Reproductive Biology, Sterility and Fertility Restoration, Breeding and Biotechnological Advances in Garlic: A Comprehensive Review

• Autores: Dhall, Rajinder Kumar; Cavagnaro, Pablo Federico; Malik, Geetika; Malik, Ajaz Ahmed; Rana, Neha
• Año de publicación: 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY; FERTILITY RESTORATION; MOLECULAR BREEDING; GENOMICS
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Garlic reproduces asexually, as its flowers are generally partially or completely sterile. In some garlic populations, inflorescencesoften exhibit small aerial bulbs, called ‘bulbils’, which are believed to compete for photoassimilates with developing flowers,thereby influencing fertility. Recent physiological studies on a few fertile genotypes and successful restoration of fertility by removing bulbils from inflorescences and growing the plants under long day conditions have suggested the potential possibility ofcommercial true seed production in garlic. Additionally, advances in garlic research using cutting edge technologies, includinggenomic assisted breeding, QTL and simply-inherited trait mapping, genome wide association studies (GWAS), transcriptomics,metabolic engineering and somaclonal variation, have contributed to our understanding of underlying causes and mechanismsof garlic sterility, although, to date, this has not been completely elucidated. As a result, large-scale commercial seed productionof garlic is not currently possible. Thus, current breeding strategies should focus on the selection of those—rather infrequent—clones with fertile flowers, and inflorescences with few and small bulbils, exhibiting high yields of large and viable seeds. Thisreview summarizes and critically discusses results from over 30years of research on garlic reproductive biology, its sterility andreported cases of fertility restoration, and the approaches used for true seed production in the species. Genetic, physiological andmorphological factors affecting this trait are discussed. Unlocking garlic's sexual reproduction would have a tremendous positiveimpact in breeding, genetic research, and—ultimately—domestication of this flavourful vegetable.
Fil: Dhall, Rajinder Kumar. Punjab Agricultural University; India
Fil: Cavagnaro, Pablo Federico. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-San Juan. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Malik, Geetika. No especifíca;
Fil: Malik, Ajaz Ahmed. University Of Agricultural Science And Technology-kashm; India
Fil: Rana, Neha. Punjab Agricultural University; India