Apomixis in Farmers’ Fields: Overview, Case Studies from Forage Grasses and Considerations for Future Apomictic Crops

Jank, Liana, Rios, Esteban, Santos, Mateus Figueiredo, Jauregui, Rosa Noemi, Vigna, Bianca Baccili Zanotto, Barrios, Sanzio Carvalho Lima, Acuña, Carlos Alberto, Zilli, Alex Leonel, Valle, Cacilda Borges do, Reyno, Rafael, Raposo, Andrea, Altpeter, Fredy, Simeão, Rosangela, Griffa, Sabrina, Dall’Agnol, Miguel, Brunes, André Pich, Tomaszewska, Paulina, Vilela, Mariane, Gesteira, Gabriel, De Vega, Jose J., Colomba, Eliana López, Brugnoli, Elsa Andrea, Marcón, Florencia, Martínez, Eric Javier, Canto, Javier Do, Rizza, Marco Dalla, Azevedo, Ana Luisa Sousa, Narancio, Rafael and Hojsgaard, Diego (2025) Apomixis in Farmers’ Fields: Overview, Case Studies from Forage Grasses and Considerations for Future Apomictic Crops. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 44 (5). pp. 345-397. ISSN 0735-2689

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Abstract

Apomixis occurs naturally in several commercially important species from diverse plant families. While in some of these species apomixis is yet to be exploited in breeding schemes aimed at fixing heterosis, genetic progress and cultivar development, in other species apomixis has been integrated at different stages of breeding. Some of the most relevant examples come from the subfamily Panicoideae, the second largest subfamily of the Poaceae, and are the main focus of this review. The subfamily encompasses many tropical and sub-tropical grasses and grains of worldwide economic importance. Apomictic tropical forages are prime examples of how apomixis can be used and exploited in the development of marketable cultivars, which are essential to the meat and milk production industries globally. The main commercial forages used as grass pastures covering millions of hectares in tropical and sub-tropical regions are polyploids exhibiting gametophytic apomixis that belong to the genus Urochloa spp. (brachiariagrasses) and to the species Megathyrsus maximus (guineagrass). Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Paspalum spp. are other important apomictic forages bred and used in these regions. Breeding involves large germplasm collections from the centers of origin of the species, and for most of them, sexually reproducing diploid plants have been found. Chromosomically duplicated plants that maintain sexual reproduction are used in crosses with apomictic genotypes for the development and selection of cultivars to be marketed or used as progenitors in subsequent breeding cycles. The peculiarities of each genus/species breeding programs, the cultivars obtained from these programs, and the impact of use of marker assisted selection in cultivar development are presented. In addition, the test or implementation of new technologies such as high throughput phenotyping, and the use of machine learning methods for trait prediction and genomic selection are positively impacting the selection and speed of development of new polyploid apomictic cultivars. Genetic transformation techniques, including genome editing, provide an additional layer for design of tailor-made, customer-oriented cultivars.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability statement (DAS): This paper is a review and was prepared based on published information, thus, there is no unpublished data being presented.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cenchrus,clonal seeds,cultivar development,marker assisted selection,megathyrsus,paspalum,pennisetum,urochloa,plant science ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1110
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2026 17:30
Last Modified:	27 Jan 2026 13:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101601
DOI:	10.1080/07352689.2025.2578983

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