Recurrent Selection for Rubber Yield in Russian Dandelion

Abstract

<jats:p>Russian dandelion [<jats:italic>Taraxacum kok-saghyz</jats:italic> (TKS)] is a promising alternative to the Para rubber tree (<jats:italic>Hevea brasiliensis</jats:italic>) as a source of natural rubber; however, rubber yields must be improved for this undomesticated species to become a profitable new crop. Half-sib family recurrent selection was conducted for four cycles to increase rubber yield, estimated as the product of rubber percentage, and root dry weight per plant. Two distinct populations were developed for adaptation to sand and loam soil types. Rubber percentage increased from 4.17% for the cycle 0 (C<jats:sub>0</jats:sub>) population to 6.40% for the C<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>-loam population. Rubber yield also increased from 0.15 to 0.22 g/plant after four selection cycles. Although phenotypic variation was observed, selection had no effect on root weight; all populations averaged 3.70 g/plant. Rubber yield and percentage and root dry weight were not increased after four selection cycles on sandy soils, likely because of poor adaptation and high environmental variation. Year and soil type affected rubber yields; however, rubber percentage was more stable than root dry weight. Overall, russian dandelion can be improved for rubber yield, and further studies with increased error control should be considered to enhance root dry weight.</jats:p>

Inflorescence Development and Floral Organogenesis in Taraxacum kok-saghyz

“…There is an ongoing breeding effort to fully domesticate TK in order to improve yield and rubber concentration [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and to introduce desirable agronomic traits. Some techniques have been developed to accelerate breeding in TK, such as CRISPR/Cas9-induced genome editing [ 26 ]; polyploid induction using colchicine [ 27 ]; the development of simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers from available expressed-sequence tag (EST) data to study genetic diversity in TK populations [ 28 ]; the use of RNA sequencing to generate a transcriptome database for TK roots [ 25 ]; studies of trait variance, inter-trait correlation, and heritability for traits related to rubber yield [ 24 ]; and genetic transformation mediated by Agrobacterium [ 29 ].…”

Taraxacum kok-saghyz (rubber dandelion) genomic microsatellite loci reveal modest genetic diversity and cross-amplify broadly to related species

“…In addition, a number of physiological and developmental studies on currently available germplasm provided data that was helpful in maximizing the rubber/inulin yield in both years the plants were grown 11,13,15,19 . TKS also proved amenable to genetic transformation and tissue culture 14,26 , indicating the potential for its breeding engineering and increases in yield of rubber 30,31 or inulin 13–15 .…”

Research progress on sustainability of key tire materials

“…In comparison to other commercial rubbers, the international research on DR is still in its early stages, with the current focus primarily on increasing yield through breeding, molecular research, and extraction processes 25–30 . Researchers have shown confidence in ridge cropping as a means to boost yield, and future breeding research is suggested to concentrate on optimizing DR cultivation production and management 31 .…”