Genetic Diversity and Stability of Performance of Wheat Population Varieties Developed by Participatory Breeding

Modern agricultural systems rely on reduced crop genetic diversity, due in particular to the use of homogeneous elite varieties grown in large areas. However, genetic diversity within fields is a lever for a more sustainable production, allowing greater stability and resistance to biotic and abiotic...

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Published inSustainability Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 384
Main Authors van Frank, Gaëlle, Rivière, Pierre, Pin, Sophie, Baltassat, Raphaël, Berthellot, Jean-François, Caizergues, François, Dalmasso, Christian, Gascuel, Jean-Sébastien, Hyacinthe, Alexandre, Mercier, Florent, Montaz, Hélène, Ronot, Bernard, Goldringer, Isabelle
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2020
MDPI
Subjects
Adaptation
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Biodiversity
Crop yield
Farmers
Farming
Farms
Genetic diversity
Genetics
Genomes
Life Sciences
Plant breeding
Population genetics
Populations
Populations and Evolution
Proteins
Seeds
Stability
Wheat
France
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Summary:Modern agricultural systems rely on reduced crop genetic diversity, due in particular to the use of homogeneous elite varieties grown in large areas. However, genetic diversity within fields is a lever for a more sustainable production, allowing greater stability and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In France, a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) project on bread wheat, involving farmers, facilitators and researchers, has led to the development of heterogeneous populations whose within-variety genetic diversity is expected to confer the ability to adapt to farmers’ practices and environments. We studied the stability and local adaptation of ten of these farmers’ populations as well as two commercial varieties in relation to their within-variety genetic diversity. Although no clear evidence of local adaptation was detected, we found that populations’ grain yield and protein content were more stable over space and time respectively than those of commercial varieties. Moreover, the varieties’ stability over time in terms of protein content was positively correlated with within-variety genetic diversity with no significant drawback on protein yield. These results demonstrate the wide adaptive potential of PPB populations, highlighting the importance of seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity management and use. They emphasize the benefits of genetic diversity for stability over time, which is of great interest to farmers.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12010384