Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a vital oilseed crop known for its high-quality edible oil, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. It is primarily cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, where unpredictable drought poses a major constraint to its production. Sesame is a valuable source of healthy vegeta...

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Autores principales: Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter, Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari, Runo, Steven, Gandhi, Harish
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179151
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author Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter
Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari
Runo, Steven
Gandhi, Harish
author_browse Gandhi, Harish
Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari
Runo, Steven
Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter
author_facet Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter
Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari
Runo, Steven
Gandhi, Harish
author_sort Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a vital oilseed crop known for its high-quality edible oil, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. It is primarily cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, where unpredictable drought poses a major constraint to its production. Sesame is a valuable source of healthy vegetable oil, attracting growing interest worldwide. However, its cultivation in dry regions makes it vulnerable to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Sesame is grown for food, pharmaceutical, medicinal, and industrial uses, which is cultivated as a main cash crop by African and Asian smallholder farmers. Despite its importance, sesame production and productivity remain low due to numerous challenges such as; drought, salinity, diseases, insect pests, inherent genetic problems, and poor agronomic and postharvest practices. Fortunately, the crop's extensive genetic diversity offers potential for enhancing stress resilience. Our understanding of sesame molecular responses will be facilitated by ongoing attempts to develop methods for quantifying biotic and abiotic stresses. We review recent advances in the molecular mechanisms underlying sesame's tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses focusing on stress-related genes and key agronomic traits. Additionally, we review recent advancements in functional genomics and transcriptomics, specifically in deciphering sesame's responses to drought, water-logging, temperature fluctuations, osmotic stress, and salinity as well as biotic stressors. To accelerate the development of stress-resistant sesame varieties, we propose advancing research in genomics-assisted breeding. Approaches such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and high-density linkage mapping can help identify key genetic markers associated with stress tolerance. These markers can then be applied in marker-assisted selection to develop resilient cultivars, ensuring stable yields under changing climate conditions.
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spelling CGSpace1791512025-12-21T22:39:16Z Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari Runo, Steven Gandhi, Harish abiotic stress biotic stress gene editing sesame seed transformation Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a vital oilseed crop known for its high-quality edible oil, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. It is primarily cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, where unpredictable drought poses a major constraint to its production. Sesame is a valuable source of healthy vegetable oil, attracting growing interest worldwide. However, its cultivation in dry regions makes it vulnerable to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Sesame is grown for food, pharmaceutical, medicinal, and industrial uses, which is cultivated as a main cash crop by African and Asian smallholder farmers. Despite its importance, sesame production and productivity remain low due to numerous challenges such as; drought, salinity, diseases, insect pests, inherent genetic problems, and poor agronomic and postharvest practices. Fortunately, the crop's extensive genetic diversity offers potential for enhancing stress resilience. Our understanding of sesame molecular responses will be facilitated by ongoing attempts to develop methods for quantifying biotic and abiotic stresses. We review recent advances in the molecular mechanisms underlying sesame's tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses focusing on stress-related genes and key agronomic traits. Additionally, we review recent advancements in functional genomics and transcriptomics, specifically in deciphering sesame's responses to drought, water-logging, temperature fluctuations, osmotic stress, and salinity as well as biotic stressors. To accelerate the development of stress-resistant sesame varieties, we propose advancing research in genomics-assisted breeding. Approaches such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and high-density linkage mapping can help identify key genetic markers associated with stress tolerance. These markers can then be applied in marker-assisted selection to develop resilient cultivars, ensuring stable yields under changing climate conditions. 2025-07-16 2025-12-21T22:39:15Z 2025-12-21T22:39:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179151 en Limited Access Springer Weldemichael, M. Y., Gebremedhn, H. M., Runo, S., & Gandhi, H. (2025). Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 300(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-025-02274-2
spellingShingle abiotic stress
biotic stress
gene editing
sesame seed
transformation
Weldemichael, Micheale Yifter
Gebremedhn, Hailay Mehari
Runo, Steven
Gandhi, Harish
Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title_full Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title_fullStr Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title_full_unstemmed Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title_short Molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
title_sort molecular breeding for stress tolerance in sesame
topic abiotic stress
biotic stress
gene editing
sesame seed
transformation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179151
work_keys_str_mv AT weldemichaelmichealeyifter molecularbreedingforstresstoleranceinsesame
AT gebremedhnhailaymehari molecularbreedingforstresstoleranceinsesame
AT runosteven molecularbreedingforstresstoleranceinsesame
AT gandhiharish molecularbreedingforstresstoleranceinsesame