Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future
World Food Day 2025 is calling for global collaboration in creating a peaceful, sustainable, prosperous, and food-secure future. By working together, across governments, organizations, sectors, and communities, we can transform agrifood systems to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy diet, living in harmony with the planet.
In recognition of this day, we’ve curated a selection of research and review articles from Molecular Breeding. We invite our research community to engage with these works, reflect on the role of science in shaping policy, and continue contributing to the global pursuit of Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
Review 📖 |
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| Progress in the study of functional genes related to direct seeding of rice | This review focused on three main problems facing direct seeding of rice and six related important traits. It is expected to lay the foundation for more in-depth basic theoretical research and breeding application research on direct-seeded rice. |
| This review outlines current problems with the hybrid soybean breeding systems and explores the current efforts to make the hybrid soybean a commercial success. | |
Wheat 🍞 |
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| It improved our understanding of the genetic architecture of pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) and its related traits in wheat and provided novel genomic resources for wheat breeding based on MARS and GP. | |
| Breeding for durable resistance against biotrophic fungal pathogens using transgenes from wheat | It demonstrates and discusses three successful strategies for achieving fungal disease resistance of wheat and barley in the field using transgenes from wheat. These strategies might confer long-term resistance if applied in a sustainable way. |
Rice 🌾 |
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| The genetic basis of grain protein content in rice by genome-wide association analysis | The findings of this study will help elucidate the genetic regulatory network of protein synthesis and accumulation in rice through cloning of GPC genes and provide new insights on dominant alleles for marker-assisted selection in the genetic improvement of rice grain quality. |
| Truncation of the calmodulin binding domain in rice glutamate decarboxylase 4 (OsGAD4) leads to accumulation of γ-aminobutyric acid and confers abiotic stress tolerance in rice seedlings | The objective of the study was to produce GABA-enriched and stress-tolerant rice plants by genome editing of the rice GAD4 gene i.e., truncation of Ca2+/CaMBD in the C-terminal region of GAD4 and a subsequent detailed study to explore the response of the mutants upon exposure to adverse condition |
Maize 🌽 |
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| Multi-omics assists genomic prediction of maize yield with machine learning approaches | By integrating multiple omics data with the RF machine learning approach, we can further improve the prediction accuracy of grain yield from 0.32 to 0.43. Our research provides new ideas for the application of plant omics data and artificial intelligence approaches to facilitate crop genetic improvements. |
| Genome-wide identification and analyses of ZmAPY genes reveal their roles involved in maize development and abiotic stress responses | The study shed light on the molecular characteristics and evolutionary history of maize apyrase genes, highlighting their roles in various biological processes and stress responses. |
Bean 🫘 |
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| Development of SNP marker panels for genotyping by target sequencing (GBTS) and its application in soybean | This study provided an alternative approach for genotyping soybean lines at low cost and with high accuracy. |
| Genome-Wide Association Study on Cowpea seed coat color using RGB images |
The comprehensive study on the genetic determinants of seed coat color in cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) has elucidated a complex genetic architecture responsible for phenotypic variation, with significant implications for enhancing crop nutrition, marketability, and environmental adaptability |
Oil Crop 🌻 |
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| Improving linolenic acid content in rapeseed oil by overexpression of CsFAD2 and CsFAD3 genes |
This study generated rapeseed germplasms with high C18:3 content by simultaneously overexpressing CsFAD2 and CsFAD3, which provides a feasible way for breeding high C18:3 rapeseed cultivars. |
| Identification of an important QTL for seed oil content in soybean |
It provides information for uncovering the genetic mechanisms determining seed oil content in soybean, as well as identifying an additional QTL and highlighting GmRNF1a as candidate gene for modulating seed oil content in soybean. |