Pulse Crop Genetics for a Sustainable Future: Where We Are Now and Where We Should Be Heading

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed dramatic changes in global food consumption patterns mainly because of population growth and economic development. Food substitutions for healthier eating, such as swapping regular servings of meat for protein-rich crops, is an emerging diet trend that may shape the future of food systems and the environment worldwide. To meet the erratic consumer demand in a rapidly changing world where resources become increasingly scarce due largely to anthropogenic activity, the need to develop crops that benefit both human health and the environment has become urgent. Legumes are often considered to be affordable plant-based sources of dietary proteins. Growing legumes provides significant benefits to cropping systems and the environment because of their natural ability to perform symbiotic nitrogen fixation, which enhances both soil fertility and water-use efficiency. In recent years, the focus in legume research has seen a transition from merely improving economically important species such as soybeans to increasingly turning attention to some promising underutilized species whose genetic resources hold the potential to address global challenges such as food security and climate change. Pulse crops have gained in popularity as an affordable source of food or feed; in fact, the United Nations designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, proclaiming their critical role in enhancing global food security. Given that many studies have been conducted on numerous underutilized pulse crops across the world, we provide a systematic review of the related literature to identify gaps and opportunities in pulse crop genetics research. We then discuss plausible strategies for developing and using pulse crops to strengthen food and nutrition security in the face of climate and anthropogenic changes.

Appraising Agroecological Urbanism: A Vision for the Future of Sustainable Cities

“…Encompassing the entire food system, from farm to table to trashcan, agroecology is critical to combating climate change and improving human well-being, thereby safeguarding the planet's future. Some actors (such as researchers and policy makers) and funding agencies prefer to talk about Climate Smart Agricultural Practices rather than agroecological practices, but the two are very similar [17].…”

Circadian Rhythms in Legumes: What Do We Know and What Else Should We Explore?

“…During the past decade, it has been observed that unlocking the potential of underutilized legumes, such as winged bean and lentil, is equally important as the improvement of major legumes such as soybean and common pea [ 7 , 8 ]. These leguminous species have recently been promoted as the protein alternatives to soybean and meat, being part of the solution to future food and nutrition insecurity amidst climate change [ 8 ].…”

“…With the declaration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, the importance of pulse utilization and development in supporting sustainable food systems has been widely recognized [ 7 ]. Pulses, the edible seeds of legumes, are generally considered a good and affordable source of protein and fibers [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…The targeted goals include, among others, Zero Hunger (Goal 2), Good Health and Well-being (Goal 3), and Climate Action (Goal 13). Although there is an increasing interest in legume biology, numerous knowledge gaps have yet to be filled for these crops, including the molecular basis and physiological importance of their circadian rhythms [ 7 ]. This review provides insights into the molecular components of circadian rhythms in the legume family Leguminosae (or Fabaceae ), highlighting key findings in their clock research as well as the gaps in the existing literature.…”

Genomic resources for lupins are coming of age

“…Many of these crops had previously been considered as ‘orphan’ crops in terms of the genomic resources available and progress in crop improvement for these crops lagged behind those with good genomic resources. Consequently, the development of advanced genomic resources has greatly facilitated research and breeding efforts for these crops like chickpea, peanut and pigeon pea (Pandey et al, 2016; Sahruzaini et al, 2020; Varshney et al, 2019), while there is growing interest in using proteomic and metabolomic approaches for legume crop improvement (Ramalingam et al, 2015). There has also been an expansion in the use of comparative genomic approaches that have helped to give valuable insight into many aspects of legume biology such as syntenic relationships among various legume species and a deeper understanding of legume evolution.…”