Asiatic Beans

Abstract

Vigna species of the subgenus Ceratotropis constitute an economically important group of cultivated and wild species, of which a rich diversity occurs in Asian subcontinent. Progress in genetic improvement in Vigna species has been made mainly by conventional breeding methods. These methods, in addition of being time‐consuming and labor‐intensive, are met with a wide range of problems including traits associated with low genetic variation, low survivability of interspecific hybrids, specific inheritance of some valuable traits such as yield, disease, and pest resistance, as well as harvesting characteristics. Advances in genetic transformation technology offer enormous opportunities for crop improvement complementing traditional breeding programs. In this review, we highlight the progress in in vitro plant regeneration and genetic transformation of Vigna species. Applications of the developed gene transfer methods in specific crops vis‐a‐vis the limitations associated with each crop and gene transfer method, and the opportunities for future improvement are discussed.

Sonication, Vacuum Infiltration and Thiol Compounds Enhance the Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Frequency of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

“…At 10 sec sonication time, a large number of microwounds were produced across the tissue, which permitted the Agrobacterium to penetrate deeper and more completely throughout the tissue as compared to the natural infection obtained during co-cultivation, thus improving the bacterial colonization and infection of the tissue [ 36 ]. Trick and Finer [ 37 ] observed under SEM that ultrasound treatment produced small wounds, which allowed Agrobacterium access to internal plant tissue. Sahoo and Jaiwal [ 38 ] reported that the sonication treatment has the potential to increase transformation efficiency by improving penetration of Agrobacterium cells into the cell layers beneath the epidermis of the cotyledonary node region.…”

“…Sahoo and Jaiwal [ 38 ] reported that the sonication treatment has the potential to increase transformation efficiency by improving penetration of Agrobacterium cells into the cell layers beneath the epidermis of the cotyledonary node region. SAAT has been playing a vital role in improving the transformation frequency and provided efficient delivery of T-DNA into cells in many plant species [ 39 , 40 ], especially those that are typically more recalcitrant to Agrobacterium -mediated transformation [ 37 ].…”

In vitro Regeneration of Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.)

“…Although grass pea is endowed with many good features, the production of the species has not yet improved significantly due to its prominent susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses (Jaiwal & Gulati, 1995;Sahoo & Jaiwal, 2008). Physiological and molecular mechanism of its adaptation to different abiotic stresses are still not well studied (Piwowarczyk et al, 2015).…”

Development of an efficient in vitro plant regeneration system amenable to Agrobacterium- mediated transformation of a recalcitrant grain legume blackgram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper)

“…Because of its high protein content and perfect combination of all nutrients, including proteins (25-26 %), carbohydrates (60 %), fat (1.5 %), minerals, amino acids and vitamins (Karamany 2006), it is extensively used in Asia especially in India and now also grown in the Southern United States, the West Indies, Japan and other tropics and subtropics (Delic et al 2009). Viral and fungal pathogens lead to severe yield losses in blackgram (Sahoo and Jaiwal 2008) and to overcome this problem, attempts have been made to obtain resistant cultivars either by conventional breeding or genetic transformation. Due to limited genetic variation among cultivated accessions and sexual incompatibility with wild relatives, genetic engineering is a good alternative for conventional breeding.…”