Frontiers in Plant Science (Feb 2022)

Development of Protocols for Regeneration and Transformation of Apomitic and Sexual Forms of Dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.)

  • Gustavo E. Schrauf,
  • Gustavo E. Schrauf,
  • Lisandro Voda,
  • Lisandro Voda,
  • Lisandro Voda,
  • Alicia M. Zelada,
  • Alicia M. Zelada,
  • Ana María García,
  • Andrea Giordano,
  • Pablo Peralta Roa,
  • Pablo Peralta Roa,
  • Juan Guitian,
  • Juan Guitian,
  • Juan Rebori,
  • Sergio Ghio,
  • Sergio Ghio,
  • Luciana Couso,
  • Luciana Couso,
  • Lautaro Castro,
  • Lautaro Castro,
  • Eduardo Musacchio,
  • Eduardo Musacchio,
  • Pablo Rush,
  • Pablo Rush,
  • Jutta Nagel,
  • Zeng Yu Wang,
  • Noel Cogan,
  • Noel Cogan,
  • Germán Spangenberg,
  • Germán Spangenberg,
  • Germán Spangenberg

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.787549
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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Paspalum dilatatum (common name dallisgrass), a productive C4 grass native to South America, is an important pasture grass found throughout the temperate warm regions of the world. It is characterized by its tolerance to frost and water stress and a higher forage quality than other C4 forage grasses. P. dilatatum includes tetraploid (2n = 40), sexual, and pentaploid (2n = 50) apomictic forms, but is predominantly cultivated in an apomictic monoculture, which implies a high risk that biotic and abiotic stresses could seriously affect the grass productivity. The obtention of reproducible and efficient protocols of regeneration and transformation are valuable tools to obtain genetic modified grasses with improved agronomics traits. In this review, we present the current regeneration and transformation methods of both apomictic and sexual cultivars of P. dilatatum, discuss their strengths and limitations, and focus on the perspectives of genetic modification for producing new generation of forages. The advances in this area of research lead us to consider Paspalum dilatatum as a model species for the molecular improvement of C4 perennial forage species.

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