Induced Mutations and Crop Improvement

Abstract

Genetic variation is the mainstay which plant breeders require to produce new and improved cultivars. The opportunity of obtaining novel traits exists through induction of mutations. Induced mutations have played a signifi cant role in meeting challenges related to world food and nutritional security by way of mutant germplasm enhancement and their utilisation for the development of new mutant varieties. A wide range of genetic variability has been induced by physical and chemical mutagens. In the past several decades, induced mutations have contributed immensely to the development of improved varieties in several crop plants. Cellular and molecular biology tools have led to enhanced effi ciency of induction, detection and deployment of mutations. Till date, 3,218 mutant varieties have been released worldwide. More than 60 % of offi cially released mutant varieties are from Asia with China, India and Japan topping the list. The mutant varieties developed and released in major crops have been cultivated by farmers in large areas and have resulted in increased food production, thus contributing to food security. In this chapter, various aspects of mutation induction, applications and examples of successful use of induced mutants in crop improvement programmes are presented.

Phenotypic Performance of Rice (<i>Oryza sativa </i>L<i>.</i>) Populations Induced by the MNU Mutant on the Adaptive Characteristics

“…Remarkably, more than 84 percent of rice mutant varieties are generated from Asia region, in which, China, Japan, and India are considered as the top three of the world about mutants' generation [10]. These mutants have been noted as the major crop, and they were cultivated in large areas contributed to food security [11].…”

TILLING in Cereal Crops for Allele Expansion and Mutation Detection by Using Modern Sequencing Technologies

“…Instead, modern plant breeding has been benefited from the use of consciously created germplasms in cereal crops which offer higher yield, nutritional value, and resilience to climate factors, including diseases [6][7][8]. These novel germplasms can result from the identification of useful mutations, which are changes in the genetic makeup induced using chemicals or radiation [7][8][9][10].…”

Mutant Resources and Mutagenomics in crop plants

“…Crop wise, maximum mutants were developed in cereals followed by ornamentals, legumes and pulses and other crops including vegetables, forage, edible oil plants and tree species (Mba, 2010). Among cereals and all other crops, higher number of mutants were developed in rice (700 mutant varieties) followed by barley, wheat, maize, durum wheat, oat, millet, sorghum and rye (Suprasanna et al, 2015). As per the FAO/IAEA database, 1,825 mutants (accounting to 57%) have either better agronomic and botanical traits; of these, 577 mutants (18%) are developed for increase in yield and related traits, 321 mutants (10%) for better quality and nutritional content, 200 mutants (6%) for biotic and 125 mutants (4%) for abiotic stress tolerance (Suprasanna et al, 2015).…”

“…Among cereals and all other crops, higher number of mutants were developed in rice (700 mutant varieties) followed by barley, wheat, maize, durum wheat, oat, millet, sorghum and rye (Suprasanna et al, 2015). As per the FAO/IAEA database, 1,825 mutants (accounting to 57%) have either better agronomic and botanical traits; of these, 577 mutants (18%) are developed for increase in yield and related traits, 321 mutants (10%) for better quality and nutritional content, 200 mutants (6%) for biotic and 125 mutants (4%) for abiotic stress tolerance (Suprasanna et al, 2015). These mutant varieties have made a greater economic impact contributing to millions of dollars annually to local economies (Ahloowalia et al, 2004;Jain, 2005).…”