Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Waltram Ravelombola, Lindgi Dong, Thomas Casey Barickman, Haizheng Xiong, Aurora Manley, John Cason, Hanh Pham, Bazgha Zia, Beiquan Mou, Ainong Shi
Summary: This study conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify SNP markers and investigate candidate genes for salt tolerance in cowpea. The study found significant associations between SNP markers on chromosomes 2 and 3 and leaf chlorophyll content and leaf injury score under salt stress in cowpea.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Theophilus Kwabla Tengey, Raphael Adu Gyamfi, Edward Kofi Sallah, Memunatu Issahaku, Dominic Ngagmayan Ndela, Mariam Seidu, Abbas Francis Senyabor, Emmanuel Israel Affram, Ophelia Asirifi Amoako, Charles Naapoal
Summary: This study evaluated cowpea genotypes for their resistance to seedling-stage drought stress. IT14K-1424-12, IT10K-837-1 and IT10K-303-1 showed consistently high chlorophyll content under drought stress and were found to have Type I drought-tolerant mechanism, suggesting that they can be used in future breeding interventions or released as varieties.
COGENT FOOD & AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ly Thi Thanh Le, Lukasz Kotula, Kadambot H. M. Siddique, Timothy D. Colmer
Summary: Soybean is mainly affected by Na+ toxicity, mungbean is mainly affected by Cl- toxicity, and cowpea and common bean are affected by both Na+ and Cl- toxicity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Muhammed Opoku Gyamfi, John Saviour Yaw Eleblu, Lawrencia Gyamfi Sarfoa, Isaac Kojo Asante, Frank Opoku-Agyemang, Eric Yirenkyi Danquah
Summary: Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) was used to induce genetic variability in cowpea, resulting in unique agro-morphological abnormalities such as leaf color, shape, growth habit, pod curvature, seed shape, and seed coat color. This research highlights the importance of EMS mutagenesis for breeding and developing new farmer preferred varieties.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Vincent Ezin, Thibaut A. W. Tossou, Ifagbemi Bienvenue Chabi, Adam Ahanchede
Summary: This study investigated the combining ability and genetic correlations for water deficit tolerance traits in cowpea. The results showed the presence of additive and non-additive gene action, with additive genes playing a predominant role. Several genotypes were identified as good general combiners for traits related to yield and water deficit tolerance. The study also identified specific combiners for water deficit tolerance traits. The heritability of traits such as days to pod maturity, pod length, number of pods per plant, and weight of hundred seeds was found to be high.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emmanuel Yaw Owusu, Francis Kusi, Alexander Wireko Kena, Richard Akromah, Patrick Attamah, Frederick Justice Awuku, Gloria Mensah, Salim Lamini, Mukhtaru Zakaria
Summary: The study demonstrates that breeding cowpea for improved earliness can help mitigate the serious threats posed by global climate change to food and income security of millions of smallholder farmers in the dry savannah ecological zones of sub-Saharan Africa. Genetic control of earliness in cowpea is governed by complementary and duplicate epistasis, with the most applicable breeding approach being the selection of desirable recombinants from segregating populations developed from bi-parental crosses.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Omolayo J. Olorunwa, Bikash Adhikari, Ainong Shi, T. Casey Barickman
Summary: This study analyzed the morpho-physiological responses of 30 cowpea genotypes to waterlogging, revealing that under waterlogging conditions, cowpea plant height, leaf area, and weight decreased while water use efficiency and adventitious roots increased. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were also affected. The study identified waterlogging-tolerant and sensitive cowpea genotypes, which could be useful for genetic engineering and breeding programs aimed at improving cowpea waterlogging tolerance.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Georgeta Ciurescu, Lavinia Idriceanu, Anca Gheorghe, Mariana Ropota, Reta Draghici
Summary: The study found that using untreated cowpea as a protein source in broiler chicken feed has positive effects on the quality parameters of chicken meat. The cowpea group showed higher lightness and redness values in the meat, as well as higher collagen and protein contents and lower fat content. Additionally, the meat from cows fed with cowpea had higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and a lower Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid ratio.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Awa Sarr, Amy Bodian, Mame Codou Gueye, Badara Gueye, Ghislain Kanfany, Cyril Diatta, Lardia Ali Bougma, Elisabeth A. M. C. Diop, Ndiaga Cisse, Diaga Diouf, Christian Leclerc
Summary: This study characterizes the farming practices associated with growing cowpea in Senegal. The results reveal that cowpea is a key feature of cropping systems in the studied area, with high diversity of local varieties. More than half of the farmers acquire cowpea seeds from markets, seed suppliers, or NGOs.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Agronomy
O. Adewale Osipitan, Jeneen S. Fields, Sassoum Lo, Ivan Cuvaca
Summary: Cowpea is an important legume crop with significant nutritional, agronomic, and economic value, especially in Africa, Asia, Central America, and Southern America. With the projected increase in the minority population in the United States, the consumption of cowpea in the nation is expected to substantially rise.
Article
Horticulture
Christian S. Bowman, Bao Lam Huynh, Philip Roberts, Jansen R. P. Santos, Kaylee Paul, Timothy J. Close
Summary: Consumer preferences are crucial for the success of new cowpea cultivars, and pigment leaching during the cooking or canning process is an undesirable trait that has been targeted for improvement. This study used bulked segregant analysis to identify a major locus on Vu06 that determines the pigment-leaching trait in blackeye seed-type cowpea. However, further analysis suggests that the trait is polygenic and other seed coat or cooking-related traits may also contribute to pigment leaching. A comparison with black bean suggests potential similarities in the genetic control of this trait.
Article
Agronomy
Rabia Kocak, Melih Okcu, Kamil Haliloglu, Aras Tuerkoglu, Alireza Pour-Aboughadareh, Bita Jamshidi, Tibor Janda, Azize Alayli, Hayrunnisa Nadaroglu
Summary: Nanotechnology has become an increasingly important field of research, especially in the development of new solutions. In particular, magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) have gained attention for their unique characteristics and applications in materials science. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of MgO-NPs on cowpea plants under in vitro conditions. The results showed that MgO-NPs positively influenced the growth of cowpea plantlets, indicating the potential for using MgO-NPs in tissue culture. The study also highlighted the synthesis and characterization of MgO-NPs using walnut shell extract.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qihua Liang, Maria Munoz-Amatriain, Shengqiang Shu, Sassoum Lo, Xinyi Wu, Joseph W. Carlson, Patrick Davidson, David M. Goodstein, Jeremy Phillips, Nadia M. Janis, Elaine J. Lee, Chenxi Liang, Peter L. Morrell, Andrew D. Farmer, Pei Xu, Timothy J. Close, Stefano Lonardi
Summary: In this study, de novo genome assemblies were produced for representatives of six subpopulations of cultivated cowpea to capture the genomic diversity of this important legume. Core genes were found to be enriched in transcription factor activity, and transport and metabolic processes, while noncore genes were enriched in response to stress and defense response. Additionally, over 5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and over 40 structural variants >1 Mb in size were identified through genome comparisons. Noncore genes were found to harbor a larger proportion of potentially disruptive variants, indicating their substantial contribution to diversity within domesticated cowpea.
Article
Agronomy
Remy S. Pasquet, Yonas Feleke, Paul Gepts
Summary: Vigna unguiculata is a major grain legume in Africa and an important vegetable in South-East Asia. The wild relatives in Africa consist of ten subspecies, with three of them showing evidence of hybrid origin. The study using chloroplast diversity through restriction fragment length polymorphism sheds light on the origin of V. unguiculata and the relationships between different subspecies.
GENETIC RESOURCES AND CROP EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Frejus Ariel Kpedetin Sodedji, Dahye Ryu, Jaeyoung Choi, Symphorien Agbahoungba, Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo, Simon-Pierre Assanvo N'guetta, Je Hyeong Jung, Chu Won Nho, Ho-Youn Kim
Summary: The development and promotion of biofortified food plants is a sustainable strategy for providing essential micronutrients for human health. This study identified several quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with carotenoid content in cowpea sprouts, and found significant variation in carotenoid profiles among different accessions. The research also revealed a strong positive correlation among the different carotenoid compounds, indicating the potential for simultaneous improvement. The findings provide valuable insights for breeding cowpea varieties with enhanced carotenoid content in sprouts.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Waltram Ravelombola, Ainong Shi, Bao-Lam Huynh, Jun Qin, Haizheng Xiong, Aurora Manley, Lingdi Dong, Dotun Olaoye, Gehendra Bhattarai, Bazgha Zia, Huda Alshaya, Ibtisam Alatawi
Summary: This study evaluated salt tolerance in a cowpea population and identified SNP markers and candidate genes associated with salt tolerance. The results showed large variation in salt tolerance among cowpea lines and identified epistatic interactions. These findings have direct applications in breeding programs aiming to improve salt tolerance in cowpea through marker-assisted selection.
Article
Plant Sciences
Bhuvan Pathak, Chandan Maurya, Maria C. Faria, Zahra Alizada, Soumen Nandy, Shan Zhao, Muhammed K. Jamsheer, Vibha Srivastava
Summary: This study demonstrates the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 in creating mutations in essential genes in rice, although the mutagenesis rates vary among different genes. Additionally, the study shows that the generated mutants exhibit phenotypes such as sterility or early senescence.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gehendra Bhattarai, Ainong Shi, Beiquan Mou, James C. Correll
Summary: This study evaluated the resistance of worldwide spinach germplasm collections and commercial cultivars to downy mildew pathogens and identified resistance-associated genomic regions and markers. The results suggest the suitability of genomic selection to improve field resistance to downy mildew, providing new information for spinach breeding to accumulate beneficial alleles for durable disease resistance.
HORTICULTURE RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Omolayo Olorunwa, Bikash Adhikari, Skyler Brazel, Ainong Shi, Sorina Popescu, George Popescu, T. Casey Barickman
Summary: Waterlogging is a significant environmental stress that affects crop productivity, with cowpea being particularly sensitive during the reproductive stage. Different cowpea genotypes exhibit varying responses to waterlogging stress, with tolerant genotypes maintaining higher photosynthesis under stress. However, both genotypes struggle to fully recover their photosynthetic capacity after prolonged waterlogging.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yasmin Vasques Berchembrock, Bhuvan Pathak, Chandan Maurya, Flavia Barbosa Silva Botelho, Vibha Srivastava
Summary: This study investigates the early responses associated with the expression of Arabidopsis dehydration response element binding 1a (DREB1a) in transgenic rice. The findings demonstrate that DREB1a can be co-localized with other genes to enhance multigenic traits. The transgenic rice lines showed improved tolerance to salinity stress and water withholding. RNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis revealed complex transcriptional networks and metabolic reprogramming induced by DREB1a expression. Additionally, potentially novel pathways, such as jasmonate, auxin, and ethylene signaling, were identified, along with the upregulation of multiple transcription factor gene families.
Article
Plant Sciences
Diego M. M. Viteri, Angela M. M. Linares, Zoralys Miranda, Ainong Shi
Summary: This study identified QTL and SNP markers associated with ashy stem blight (ASB) resistance in common bean. Two SNP markers located on chromosome Pv03 were found to be strongly associated with ASB resistance. A novel QTL region on Pv03 was also identified, which showed close correlation with ASB resistance.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Peter James Icalia Gann, Dominic Dharwadker, Sajedeh Rezaei Cherati, Kari Vinzant, Mariya Khodakovskaya, Vibha Srivastava
Summary: This study demonstrates a biotechnology approach to reduce grain chalkiness in rice by suppressing the transcriptional activity of V-PPase gene, resulting in reduced chalk content and the development of more translucent grains. The suppression effect is more pronounced under heat stress. Metabolomic analysis reveals that pathways related to starch and sugar metabolism are affected in the targeted rice lines, with upregulation of starch biosynthesis genes. This method shows promise in reducing grain chalkiness in rice.
Article
Plant Sciences
Haizheng Xiong, Yilin Chen, Yong-Bao Pan, Ainong Shi
Summary: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to identify markers associated with fiber and sucrose contents in sugarcane. Thirteen and nine markers were found to be associated with fiber and sucrose contents, respectively. Genomic prediction (GP) showed accuracy ranging from 55.8% to 58.9% for fiber content and 54.6% to 57.2% for sucrose content. These markers can be applied in marker-assisted selection and genomic selection to improve sugarcane quality.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Waltram Ravelombola, Lindgi Dong, Thomas Casey Barickman, Haizheng Xiong, Aurora Manley, John Cason, Hanh Pham, Bazgha Zia, Beiquan Mou, Ainong Shi
Summary: This study conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify SNP markers and investigate candidate genes for salt tolerance in cowpea. The study found significant associations between SNP markers on chromosomes 2 and 3 and leaf chlorophyll content and leaf injury score under salt stress in cowpea.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yilin Chen, Haizheng Xiong, Waltram Ravelombola, Gehendra Bhattarai, Casey Barickman, Ibtisam Alatawi, Theresa Makawa Phiri, Kenani Chiwina, Beiquan Mou, Shyam Tallury, Ainong Shi
Summary: This study identified a gene on chromosome 8 that is associated with seed protein content in cowpea through genome-wide association study and genomic prediction. The findings have practical implications for improving cowpea breeding programs and seed protein content.
Meeting Abstract
Horticulture
Theresa Makawa Phiri, Gehendra Bhattarai, Ainong Shi, Yong-Bao Pan
Meeting Abstract
Horticulture
Haizheng Xiong, Ainong Shi, Yilin Chen, Waltram Ravelombola, Gehendra Bhattarai, T. Casey Barickman, Ibtisam Alatawi, Theresa Makawa Phiri, Kenani Chiwina, Beiquan Mou, Qun Luo
Meeting Abstract
Horticulture
Ibtisam Alatawi, Gehendra Bhattarai, Haizheng Xiong, Waltram Ravelombola, Theresa Makawa Phiri, Kenani Chiwina, Yilin Chen, Burt Bluhm, Neelendra Joshi, Dilip Panthee, Ainong Shi
Meeting Abstract
Horticulture
Ibtisam Alatawi, Gehendra Bhattarai, Haizheng Xiong, Theresa Makawa Phiri, Kenani Chiwina, Yilin Chen, Burt Bluhm, Neelendra Joshi, Dilip Panthee, Ainong Shi
Article
Plant Sciences
Ainong Shi, Gehendra Bhattarai, Haizheng Xiong, Carlos A. Avila, Chunda Feng, Bo Liu, Vijay Joshi, Larry Stein, Beiquan Mou, Lindsey J. du Toit, James C. Correll
Summary: This study identified 9 SNP markers associated with white rust resistance in spinach through genome-wide associating study and performed genomic prediction with high prediction accuracy of 0.84. These markers and the high prediction accuracy are valuable for improving spinach through marker-assisted selection and genomic selection.
HORTICULTURE RESEARCH
(2022)