Apomixis in Farmers’ Fields: Overview, Case Studies from Forage Grasses and Considerations for Future Apomictic Crops

• Autores: Jank, Liana; Rios, Esteban; Figueiredo Santos, Mateus; Jauregui, Rosa Noemi; Baccili Zanotto Vigna, Bianca; Lima Barrios, Sanzio Carvalho; Acuña, Carlos Alberto; Zilli, Alex Leonel; Borges do Valle, Cacilda; Reyno, Rafael; Griffa, Sabrina Mariana; Lopez Colomba, Eliana; Hojsgaard, Diego
• Año de publicación: 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 44 (5) : 345-397 (2025)
• Materia: Cenchrus; Marker-assisted Selection; Paspalum; Pennisetum; Urochloa; Selección Asistida por Marcadores; Apomixis; Clonal Seeds; Cultivar Development; Megathyrsus
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Apomixis occurs naturally in several commercially important species from diverse plant families. While in some of these species apomixis is yet to be exploited in breeding schemes aimed at fixing heterosis, genetic progress and cultivar development, in other species apomixis has been integrated at different stages of breeding. Some of the most relevant examples come from the subfamily Panicoideae, the second largest subfamily of the Poaceae, and are the main focus of this review. The subfamily encompasses many tropical and sub-tropical grasses and grains of worldwide economic importance. Apomictic tropical forages are prime examples of how apomixis can be used and exploited in the development of marketable cultivars, which are essential to the meat and milk production industries globally. The main commercial forages used as grass pastures covering millions of hectares in tropical and sub-tropical regions are polyploids exhibiting gametophytic apomixis that belong to the genus Urochloa spp. (brachiariagrasses) and to the species Megathyrsus maximus (guineagrass). Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Paspalum spp. are other important apomictic forages bred and used in these regions. Breeding involves large germplasm collections from the centers of origin of the species, and for most of them, sexually reproducing diploid plants have been found. Chromosomically duplicated plants that maintain sexual reproduction are used in crosses with apomictic genotypes for the development and selection of cultivars to be marketed or used as progenitors in subsequent breeding cycles. The peculiarities of each genus/species breeding programs, the cultivars obtained from these programs, and the impact of use of marker assisted selection in cultivar development are presented. In addition, the test or implementation of new technologies such as high throughput phenotyping, and the use of machine learning methods for trait prediction and genomic selection are positively impacting the selection and speed of development of new polyploid apomictic cultivars. Genetic transformation techniques, including genome editing, provide an additional layer for design of tailor-made, customer-oriented cultivars.
Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales
Fil: Jank, Liana. Embrapa Beef Cattle. Forage Breeding and Biotechnology; Brasil
Fil: Rios, Esteban. University of Florida. Agronomy Department. (IFAS); Estados Unidos
Fil: Figueiredo Santos, Mateus. Embrapa Beef Cattle. Forage Breeding and Biotechnology; Brasil
Fil: Jauregui, Rosa Noemi. CIAT. Tropical Forages Program. Crops for Nutrition and Health; Colombia
Fil: Baccili Zanotto Vigna, Bianca. Embrapa Southeastern Livestock. Plant Biotechnology; Brasil
Fil: Lima Barrios, Sanzio Carvalho. Embrapa Beef Cattle. Forage Breeding and Biotechnology; Brasil
Fil: Acuña, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina
Fil: Zilli, Alex Leonel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina
Fil: Borges do Valle, Cacilda. Embrapa Beef Cattle. Forage Breeding and Biotechnology; Brasil
Fil: Reyno, Rafael. National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA). Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, and Pastures and Forages Area; Uruguay
Fil: Griffa, Sabrina Mariana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Griffa, Sabrina Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Lopez Colomba, Eliana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Lopez Colomba, Eliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Hojsgaard, Diego. Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK); Alemania
Fil: Hojsgaard, Diego. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina