Watson and Singh (1953) first introduced the concept called gene pyramiding. Gene pyramiding is defined as a method aimed at assembling multiple desirable genes from multiple parents into a single genotype. The end product of a gene pyramiding program is a genotype with all of the target genes. It is mainly used in improving existing elite cultivars for a few unsatisfactory traits, for which genes with large positive effects are identified. Traditionally, the identification of the sources of useful genes is very slow and the breeder’s capability to trace the presence or absence of the target genes is limited. This limits the number of genes to be incorporated into elite cultivars at any time. The development of modern molecular and genomics technology has not only accelerated the discovery of favorable genes but also widened the sources of useful genes.

 

                   Stripe rust or yellow rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is the most effective approach to control the disease. An experiment was conducted to develop a set of significantly improved strip rust resistance wheat lines by pyramiding several effective Yr gens.

 

                  Enhancement of rice yield is a primary objective for the breeders to secure food supply to the ever-growing population. This study aimed to enhance the rice yield by the harmonious assembling of genes governing key yield component traits i.e., GS3, GS5, and qsw5 from MTU3626 and LP1 from NLR33892 into a common background variety, BPT5204 through marker-assisted gene pyramiding.

 

                  Gene pyramiding offers a powerful strategy for enhancing crop performance, improving disease resistance, and broadening the genetic diversity of released cultivars by combining complementary genes, introgressing genes from other sources, and increasing the durability of desired traits. Employing marker-assisted gene pyramiding (MAGP) increases the precision of transfer of the targeted genes without much influencing the background of the recurrent parent. Hence, this marker-assisted gene pyramiding is a potential approach for improving elite cultivars.

   References:

1. LIU, R., LU, Z., ZHOU, M., ZHENG, S., ZHANG, C. AND WANG, M., 2020, Developing stripe rust resistant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines with gene pyramiding strategy and marker-assisted selection. Genet. Resour. Crop. Evol., 67(2):381–391.

2. MALAV, A. K., INDU. AND CHANDRAVAT, K. S., 2016, Gene Pyramiding: An Overview. Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol., 3(7):22-28.

3. PULINDALA, S., BOMMISETTY, R., WITHANAWASAM, D.M., SOMAGUTTA, S., KOMMANA, M., KALLURU, S., KEERTHI, I., CHINTALA, S. AND VEMIREDDY, L.R., 2022, Enhancement of yield through marker-assisted pyramiding of yield contributing genes in rice (Oryza sativa L.) var. BPT5204. Euphytica, 218(10):148.

4. YE, G. AND SMITH, K.F., 2009, Marker-assisted gene pyramiding for cultivar development. Plant Breed. Rev, 33:219-256.