Lathyrus improvement for resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses: From classical breeding to marker assisted selection

Abstract

Several Lathyrus species and in particular Lathyrus sativus (grass pea) have great agronomic potential as grain and forage legume, especially in drought conditions. Grass pea is rightly considered as one of the most promising sources of calories and protein for the vast and expanding populations of drought-prone and marginal areas of Asia and Africa. It is virtually the only species that can yield high protein food and feed under these conditions. It is superior in yield, protein value, nitrogen fixation, and drought, flood and salinity tolerance than other legume crops. Lathyrus species have a considerable potential in crop rotation, improving soil physical conditions; reducing the amount of disease and weed populations, with the overall reduction of production costs. Grass pea was already in use in Neolithic times, and presently is considered as a model crop for sustainable agriculture. As a result of the little breeding effort invested in it compared to other legumes, grass pea cultivation has shown a regressive pattern in many areas in recent decades. This is due to variable yield caused by sensitivity to diseases and stress factors and above all, to the presence of the neurotoxin β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), increasing the danger of genetic erosion. However, both L. sativus and L. cicera are gaining interest as grain legume crops in Mediterranean-type environments and production is increasing in Ethiopia, China, Australia and several European countries.This paper reviews research work on Lathyrus breeding focusing mainly on biotic and abiotic resistance improvement, and lists current developments in biotechnologies to identify challenges for Lathyrus improvement in the future.

Influence of PEG generated osmotic stress on shoot regeneration and some biochemical parameters in Lathyrus culture

“…Several Lathyrus species and especially Lathyrus sativus (grass pea) have a great agronomic potential because of their superior drought, flood and salinity tolerance compared to other legume crops (Vaz Patto et al 2006). Research on plant stress responses has been carried out intensively but mostly on model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana.…”

“…The available literature reports that plants of the genus Lathyrus are less sensitive to adverse water conditions and salinity than other members of the family Fabaceae (Vaz Patto et al 2006), but there are few studies on this topic. Generally, the genus Lathyrus is neglected, especially in Europe.…”

Different acclimatization mechanisms of two grass pea cultivars to osmotic stress in in vitro culture

“…A search for plant species that are tolerant to drought and elucidating the mechanisms of their responses to osmotic stress is of significant importance. Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus, Fabaceae) is a crop highly tolerant to the stress caused by various abiotic factors (Vaz Patto et al 2006). Even though the exact mechanism of this tolerance is still not known, there are reports indicating that it can rely on the ability to adjust the plants osmotic potential (Jiang et al 2013;Piwowarczyk et al 2014), elevated antioxidant enzyme activity (Jiang et al 2013), accumulation of polyamines and b-N-oxalyl-L-a,b-diaminopropionic acid (Xing et al 2001;Xiong et al 2006).…”

Testing of uniformity of seven Lathyrus species using Bennett’s and Miller’s methods

“…Among others for such belong some species of Lathyrus genus. Apart from high protein content in seeds Lathyrus species have a considerable potential in crop rotation, improving soil physical conditions; reducing the amount of disease and weed population, with the overall reducing of producing costs (Vaz Patto et al 2006). The genus Lathyrus is large with 200 species and subspecies that are found in both the Old World and the New World.…”

“…However, only, one species-grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is widely cultivated as a food and was already in use in Neolithic times. Presently is considered as a model crop for sustainable agriculture (Vaz Patto et al 2006). The other species are cultivated to a lesser extent for both food and forage, include L. cicera, L. clymenum, and L. ochrus for grain but mainly for forage production and L. tingitanus as forage species.…”