A comprehensive characterization of agronomic and end-use quality phenotypes across a quinoa world core collection

Evan B Craine; Alathea Davies; Daniel Packer; Nathan D Miller; Sandra M Schmöckel; Edgar P Spalding; Mark Tester; Kevin M Murphy

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1101547

A comprehensive characterization of agronomic and end-use quality phenotypes across a quinoa world core collection

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Feb 16:14:1101547. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1101547. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Evan B Craine¹, Alathea Davies², Daniel Packer³, Nathan D Miller⁴, Sandra M Schmöckel⁵, Edgar P Spalding⁴, Mark Tester⁶, Kevin M Murphy²

Affiliations

¹ The Land Institute, Salina, KS, United States.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States.
³ Sustainable Seed Systems Laboratory, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States.
⁴ Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
⁵ Department Physiology of Yield Stability, Institute of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
⁶ Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), a pseudocereal with high protein quality originating from the Andean region of South America, has broad genetic variation and adaptability to diverse agroecological conditions, contributing to the potential to serve as a global keystone protein crop in a changing climate. However, the germplasm resources currently available to facilitate quinoa expansion worldwide are restricted to a small portion of quinoa's total genetic diversity, in part because of day-length sensitivity and issues related to seed sovereignty. This study aimed to characterize phenotypic relationships and variation within a quinoa world core collection. The 360 accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replicates in each of two greenhouses in Pullman, WA during the summer of 2018. Phenological stages, plant height, and inflorescence characteristics were recorded. Seed yield, composition, thousand seed weight, nutritional composition, shape, size, and color were measured using a high-throughput phenotyping pipeline. Considerable variation existed among the germplasm. Crude protein content ranged from 11.24% to 17.81% (fixed at 14% moisture). We found that protein content was negatively correlated with yield and positively correlated with total amino acid content and days to harvest. Mean essential amino acids values met adult daily requirements but not leucine and lysine infant requirements. Yield was positively correlated with thousand seed weight and seed area, and negatively correlated with ash content and days to harvest. The accessions clustered into four groups, with one-group representing useful accessions for long-day breeding programs. The results of this study establish a practical resource for plant breeders to leverage as they strategically develop germplasm in support of the global expansion of quinoa.

Keywords: amino acids; high-throughput phenotyping; plant breeding; protein; quinoa.

Grants and funding

Funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, award number 2016-680004-2470. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 1842493. As a disclaimer, any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.