Outputs (75)

A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (2024)
Journal Article
Ho, W. K., Tanzi, A. S., Sang, F., Tsoutsoura, N., Shah, N., Moore, C., …Mayes, S. (2024). A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus. Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 1901. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45048-x

A sustainable supply of plant protein is critical for future generations and needs to be achieved while reducing green house gas emissions from agriculture and increasing agricultural resilience in the face of climate volatility. Agricultural diversi... Read More about A genomic toolkit for winged bean Psophocarpus tetragonolobus.

A pilot-scale comparison between single and double-digest RAD markers generated using GBS strategy in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) (2023)
Journal Article
Ruperao, P., Bajaj, P., Subramani, R., Yadav, R., Reddy Lachagari, V. B., Lekkala, S. P., …Rangan, P. (2023). A pilot-scale comparison between single and double-digest RAD markers generated using GBS strategy in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). PLoS ONE, 18(6), Article e0286599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286599

To reduce the genome sequence representation, restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) protocols is being widely used either with single-digest or double-digest methods. In this study, we genotyped the sesame population (48 sample size) i... Read More about A pilot-scale comparison between single and double-digest RAD markers generated using GBS strategy in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.).

Deciphering the molecular basis for photosynthetic parameters in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) under drought stress (2023)
Journal Article
Gao, X., Chai, H. H., Ho, W. K., Mayes, S., & Massawe, F. (2023). Deciphering the molecular basis for photosynthetic parameters in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) under drought stress. BMC Plant Biology, 23, Article 287. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04293-w

Background: Assessment of segregating populations for their ability to withstand drought stress conditions is one of the best approaches to develop breeding lines and drought tolerant varieties. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc.) is a le... Read More about Deciphering the molecular basis for photosynthetic parameters in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) under drought stress.

Exploring the sorghum race level diversity utilizing 272 sorghum accessions genomic resources (2023)
Journal Article
Ruperao, P., Gandham, P., Odeny, D. A., Mayes, S., Selvanayagam, S., Thirunavukkarasu, N., …Rathore, A. (2023). Exploring the sorghum race level diversity utilizing 272 sorghum accessions genomic resources. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, Article 1143512. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1143512

Due to evolutionary divergence, sorghum race populations exhibit significant genetic and morphological variation. A k-mer-based sorghum race sequence comparison identified the conserved k-mers of all 272 accessions from sorghum and the race-specific... Read More about Exploring the sorghum race level diversity utilizing 272 sorghum accessions genomic resources.

Diversifying agrifood systems to ensure global food security following the Russia–Ukraine crisis (2023)
Journal Article
Neik, T. X., Siddique, K. H. M., Mayes, S., Edwards, D., Batley, J., Mabhaudhi, T., …Massawe, F. (2023). Diversifying agrifood systems to ensure global food security following the Russia–Ukraine crisis. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, Article 1124640. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1124640

The recent Russia–Ukraine conflict has raised significant concerns about global food security, leaving many countries with restricted access to imported staple food crops, particularly wheat and sunflower oil, sending food prices soaring with other a... Read More about Diversifying agrifood systems to ensure global food security following the Russia–Ukraine crisis.

Building Resilient Crop Production Systems for Drought-Prone Areas—A Case for Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) and Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) (2023)
Journal Article
Kundy, A. C., Mayes, S., Msanya, B., Ndakidemi, P., & Massawe, F. (2023). Building Resilient Crop Production Systems for Drought-Prone Areas—A Case for Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) and Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Agronomy, 13(2), Article 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020383

Drought is a major crop production constraint worldwide. Some legume crops are known for their ability to resist water deficit stress. This study evaluated the responses of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) and groundnut (Arachis hypog... Read More about Building Resilient Crop Production Systems for Drought-Prone Areas—A Case for Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) and Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).

A multiscale mathematical model describing the growth and development of bambara groundnut (2022)
Journal Article
Dodd, J., Sweby, P. K., Mayes, S., Murchie, E. H., Karunaratne, A. S., Massawe, F., & Tindall, M. J. (2023). A multiscale mathematical model describing the growth and development of bambara groundnut. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 560, Article 111373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111373

A principal objective in agriculture is to maximise food production; this is particularly relevant with the added demands of an ever increasing population, coupled with the unpredictability that climate change brings. Further improvements in producti... Read More about A multiscale mathematical model describing the growth and development of bambara groundnut.

Genomic selection strategies to increase genetic gain in tea breeding programs (2022)
Journal Article
Lubanga, N., Massawe, F., Mayes, S., Gorjanc, G., & Bančič, J. (2022). Genomic selection strategies to increase genetic gain in tea breeding programs. The Plant Genome, Article e20282. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20282

Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] is mainly grown in low‐ to middle‐income countries (LMIC) and is a global commodity. Breeding programs in these countries face the challenge of increasing genetic gain because the accuracy of selecting superior... Read More about Genomic selection strategies to increase genetic gain in tea breeding programs.

The Winged Bean Genome: Winged Bean—One Species Supermarket (2022)
Book Chapter
Tsoutsoura, N., Chong, Y. T., Ho, W. K., Chai, H. H., Tanzi, A. S., Salazar-Licea, L., …Mayes, S. (2022). The Winged Bean Genome: Winged Bean—One Species Supermarket. In M. A. Chapman (Ed.), Underutilised Crop Genomes (315-336). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00848-1_17

Climate change, population growth and increasingly homogenised diets are a threat to food security and human nutritional status. There is an urgent need to incorporate highly nutritious crops into the human diet to provide new sources of nutrition, t... Read More about The Winged Bean Genome: Winged Bean—One Species Supermarket.

Genetic diversity analysis and marker-trait associations in Amaranthus species (2022)
Journal Article
Jamalluddin, N., Massawe, F. J., Mayes, S., Ho, W. K., & Symonds, R. C. (2022). Genetic diversity analysis and marker-trait associations in Amaranthus species. PLoS ONE, 17(5), Article e0267752. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267752

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) is a highly nutritious, underutilized vegetable and pseudo-cereal crop. It possesses diverse abiotic stress tolerance traits, is genetically diverse and highly phenotypically plastic, making it an ideal crop to thrive in a... Read More about Genetic diversity analysis and marker-trait associations in Amaranthus species.

Fruit and vegetable biodiversity for nutritionally diverse diets: Challenges, opportunities, and knowledge gaps (2022)
Journal Article
Harris, J., van Zonneveld, M., Achigan-Dako, E. G., Bajwa, B., Brouwer, I. D., Choudhury, D., …Schreinemachers, P. (2022). Fruit and vegetable biodiversity for nutritionally diverse diets: Challenges, opportunities, and knowledge gaps. Global Food Security, 33, Article 100618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100618

Planetary health brings together intrinsically linked issues of human health and natural systems. This paper reviews evidence of how agrobiodiversity underpins dietary diversity for current human populations in the context of fruits and vegetables, a... Read More about Fruit and vegetable biodiversity for nutritionally diverse diets: Challenges, opportunities, and knowledge gaps.

Natural Genotypic Variation Underpins Root System Response to Drought Stress in Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] (2022)
Journal Article
Mateva, K. I., Chai, H. H., Mayes, S., & Massawe, F. (2022). Natural Genotypic Variation Underpins Root System Response to Drought Stress in Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.]. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, Article 1664-462X. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.760879

Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] is grown in rainfed production systems and suffers from periodic drought stress (DS), leading to yield reductions. Natural genotypic variation for root traits is essential for adaptation to water defi... Read More about Natural Genotypic Variation Underpins Root System Response to Drought Stress in Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.].

Genetic linkage map construction and identification of QTLs associated with agronomic traits in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) using DArTseq-based SNP markers (2022)
Journal Article
Gao, X., Chai, H. H., Ho, W. K., Kundy, A. C., Mateva, K. I., Mayes, S., & Massawe, F. (2023). Genetic linkage map construction and identification of QTLs associated with agronomic traits in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) using DArTseq-based SNP markers. Food and Energy Security, 12(1), Article e353. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.353

Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] is an underutilised, protein-rich and self-pollinating legume that can withstand high temperature and drought stress and is mainly grown in semi-arid Africa. In order to dissect the complexity of drou... Read More about Genetic linkage map construction and identification of QTLs associated with agronomic traits in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) using DArTseq-based SNP markers.

The potential of Bambara groundnut: An analysis for the People’s Republic of China (2022)
Journal Article
Jahanshiri, E., Goh, E. V., Wimalasiri, E. M., Azam-Ali, S., Mayes, S., Tengku Mohd Suhairi, T. A. S., …Mohd Sinin, S. S. (2022). The potential of Bambara groundnut: An analysis for the People’s Republic of China. Food and Energy Security, 11(2), Article e358. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.358

While China has transformed its economy over recent decades, challenges such as climate change and land degradation have continued to impact its agriculture. These effects along with changes in diets and growing food imports will force China to look... Read More about The potential of Bambara groundnut: An analysis for the People’s Republic of China.

Development of selection indices for improvement of seed yield and lipid composition in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (l.) verdc.) (2021)
Journal Article
Halimi, R. A., Raymond, C. A., Barkla, B. J., Mayes, S., & King, G. J. (2022). Development of selection indices for improvement of seed yield and lipid composition in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (l.) verdc.). Foods, 11(1), Article 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11010086

The underutilised grain legume bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) has the potential to contribute significantly to nutritional security. However, the lack of commercial cultivars has hindered its wider adoption and utilisation as a food source. Th... Read More about Development of selection indices for improvement of seed yield and lipid composition in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (l.) verdc.).

Out of Africa: characterising the natural variation in dynamic photosynthetic traits in a diverse population of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) (2021)
Journal Article
Cowling, S. B., Treeintong, P., Ferguson, J., Soltani, H., Swarup, R., Mayes, S., & Murchie, E. H. (2022). Out of Africa: characterising the natural variation in dynamic photosynthetic traits in a diverse population of African rice (Oryza glaberrima). Journal of Experimental Botany, 73(10), 3283–3298. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab459

African rice (Oryza glaberrima) has adapted to challenging environments and is a promising source of genetic variation. We analysed dynamics of photosynthesis and morphology in a reference set of 155 O. glaberrima accessions. Plants were grown in an... Read More about Out of Africa: characterising the natural variation in dynamic photosynthetic traits in a diverse population of African rice (Oryza glaberrima).

Physiological screening for drought tolerance traits in vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) germplasm (2021)
Journal Article
Jamalluddin, N., Massawe, F. J., Mayes, S., Ho, W. K., Singh, A., & Symonds, R. C. (2021). Physiological screening for drought tolerance traits in vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) germplasm. Agriculture, 11(10), Article 994. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100994

Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor), an underutilized climate smart crop, is highly nutritious and possesses diverse drought tolerance traits, making it an ideal crop to thrive in a rapidly changing climate. Despite considerable studies on the growth and... Read More about Physiological screening for drought tolerance traits in vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) germplasm.

Target Gene Identification and sgRNA Design for Waterlogging Tolerance in Foxtail Millet via CRISPR-Based Transcriptional Activation (2021)
Journal Article
Nor Akmar Abdullah, S., Abdullah, A., & Mayes, S. (2021). Target Gene Identification and sgRNA Design for Waterlogging Tolerance in Foxtail Millet via CRISPR-Based Transcriptional Activation. Current Chinese Science, 1(5), 523-533. https://doi.org/10.2174/2210298101666210709104258

Background: CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) uses non-functional Cas9 endonuclease (dCas9) but retains the genome targeting ability through its single guide RNAs (sgRNAs). CRISPRa is widely utilised as a gene activation system exploiting its ability in r... Read More about Target Gene Identification and sgRNA Design for Waterlogging Tolerance in Foxtail Millet via CRISPR-Based Transcriptional Activation.

Challenges for FAIR-compliant description and comparison of crop phenotype data with standardized controlled vocabularies (2021)
Journal Article
Andrés-Hernández, L., Halimi, R. A., Mauleon, R., Mayes, S., Baten, A., & King, G. J. (2021). Challenges for FAIR-compliant description and comparison of crop phenotype data with standardized controlled vocabularies. Database, 2021, Article baab028. https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baab028

Crop phenotypic data underpin many pre-breeding efforts to characterize variation within germplasm collections. Although there has been an increase in the global capacity for accumulating and comparing such data, a lack of consistency in the systemat... Read More about Challenges for FAIR-compliant description and comparison of crop phenotype data with standardized controlled vocabularies.

Comparison of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with yield components in two commercial Dura × Pisifera breeding crosses (2021)
Journal Article
Zolkafli, S. H., Ngoot-Chin, T., Shazana, N., Ithnin, M., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., …Singh, R. (2021). Comparison of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with yield components in two commercial Dura × Pisifera breeding crosses. Euphytica, 217, Article 104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-021-02825-9

The high yielding tenera is the commercial oil palm planting material of choice in Southeast Asia. Notwithstanding this, there is continuous effort to further improve the yield and one way to do this is by addressing the yield components (YCs ). Usin... Read More about Comparison of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with yield components in two commercial Dura × Pisifera breeding crosses.

African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review (2021)
Journal Article
Isaac, A., Shayanowako, T., Morrissey, O., Tanzi, A., Muchuweti, M., Mendiondo, G. M., …Durazzo, A. (2021). African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review. Sustainability, 13(5), Article 2896. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052896

The economic potential of African leafy vegetables (ALVs) remains obscured by a poorly developed value chain. This scoping review assembled and examined scattered knowledge generated on ALVs across southern Africa, focusing on production, processing,... Read More about African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review.

Genomic and pedigree?based predictive ability for quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) (2021)
Journal Article
Lubanga, N., Massawe, F., & Mayes, S. (2021). Genomic and pedigree?based predictive ability for quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze). Euphytica, 217(3), Article 32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-021-02774-3

© 2021, The Author(s). Genetic improvement of quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) through conventional breeding methods has been limited, because tea quality is a difficult and expensive trait to measure. Genomic selection (GS) i... Read More about Genomic and pedigree?based predictive ability for quality traits in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze).

Bambara Groundnut: An Underutilized Leguminous Crop for Global Food Security and Nutrition (2020)
Journal Article
Tan, X. L., Azam-Ali, S., Goh, E. V., Mustafa, M., Chai, H. H., Ho, W. K., …Massawe, F. (2020). Bambara Groundnut: An Underutilized Leguminous Crop for Global Food Security and Nutrition. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7, Article 601496. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.601496

© Copyright © 2020 Tan, Azam-Ali, Goh, Mustafa, Chai, Ho, Mayes, Mabhaudhi, Azam-Ali and Massawe. Rapid population growth, climate change, intensive monoculture farming, and resource depletion are among the challenges that threaten the increasingly v... Read More about Bambara Groundnut: An Underutilized Leguminous Crop for Global Food Security and Nutrition.

An improved oil palm genome assembly as a valuable resource for crop improvement and comparative genomics in the Arecoideae subfamily (2020)
Journal Article
Ong, A. L., Teh, C. K., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., Appleton, D. R., & Kulaveerasingam, H. (2020). An improved oil palm genome assembly as a valuable resource for crop improvement and comparative genomics in the Arecoideae subfamily. Plants, 9(11), Article 1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9111476

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the most traded crop among the economically important palm species. Here, we report an extended version genome of E. guineensis that is 1.2 Gb in length,... Read More about An improved oil palm genome assembly as a valuable resource for crop improvement and comparative genomics in the Arecoideae subfamily.

Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm (2020)
Journal Article
Ting, N. C., Sherbina, K., Khoo, J. S., Kamaruddin, K., Chan, P. L., Chan, K. L., …Singh, R. (2020). Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm. Scientific Reports, 10, Article 16296. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73170-5

© 2020, The Author(s). Evaluation of transcriptome data in combination with QTL information has been applied in many crops to study the expression of genes responsible for specific phenotypes. In oil palm, the mesocarp oil extracted from E. oleifera... Read More about Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm.

Variation of phenotypic traits in twelve bambara groundnut (vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) genotypes and Two F2 Bi-Parental Segregating Populations (2020)
Journal Article
Gao, X., Bamba, A. S. A., Kundy, A. C., Mateva, K. I., Chai, H. H., Ho, W. K., …Massawe, F. (2020). Variation of phenotypic traits in twelve bambara groundnut (vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) genotypes and Two F2 Bi-Parental Segregating Populations. Agronomy, 10(10), Article 1451. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10101451

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Underutilis... Read More about Variation of phenotypic traits in twelve bambara groundnut (vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) genotypes and Two F2 Bi-Parental Segregating Populations.

A mini foxtail millet with an Arabidopsis-like life cycle as a C4 model system (2020)
Journal Article
Yang, Z., Zhang, H., Li, X., Shen, H., Gao, J., Hou, S., …Wang, X. (2020). A mini foxtail millet with an Arabidopsis-like life cycle as a C4 model system. Nature Plants, 6, 1167–1178. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0747-7

Over the past few decades, several plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon and rice (Oryza sativa), have been adopted as model plants for various aspects of research. These species, especially Arabidopsis, have had vita... Read More about A mini foxtail millet with an Arabidopsis-like life cycle as a C4 model system.

Mobilizing Crop Biodiversity (2020)
Journal Article
McCouch, S., Navabi, K., Abberton, M., Anglin, N. L., Barbieri, R. L., Baum, M., …Rieseberg, L. H. (2020). Mobilizing Crop Biodiversity. Molecular Plant, 13(10), 1341-1344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2020.08.011

Over the past 70 years, the world has witnessed extraordinary growth in crop productivity, enabled by a suite of technological advances, including higher yielding crop varieties, improved farm management, synthetic agrochemicals, and agricultural mec... Read More about Mobilizing Crop Biodiversity.

Photoperiod control of yield and sink capacity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) genotypes (2020)
Journal Article
Kendabie, P., Jørgensen, S., Massawe, F., Fernandez, J., Azam-Ali, S., & Mayes, S. (2020). Photoperiod control of yield and sink capacity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) genotypes. Food and Energy Security, 9(4), Article e240. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.240

© 2020 The Authors. Food and Energy Security published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Applied Biologists In Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc], long photoperiods can cause a decline in pod and seed number. While n... Read More about Photoperiod control of yield and sink capacity in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) genotypes.

Candidate genes linked to QTL regions associated with fatty acid composition in oil palm (2020)
Journal Article
Ting, N. C., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., Sambanthamurthi, R., Chan, K. L., Sritharan, K., & Singh, R. (2020). Candidate genes linked to QTL regions associated with fatty acid composition in oil palm. Biologia, 76, 267–279. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-020-00563-2

© 2020, Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences. The present study searched for candidate genes in five linkage groups (LGs) - T2, T3, OT4, OT6 and T9 hosting the QTLs associated with iodine value (IV) and fatty acid composition (F... Read More about Candidate genes linked to QTL regions associated with fatty acid composition in oil palm.

Major qtls for trunk height and correlated agronomic traits provide insights into multiple trait integration in oil palm breeding (2020)
Journal Article
Teh, C. K., Ong, A. L., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., & Appleton, D. R. (2020). Major qtls for trunk height and correlated agronomic traits provide insights into multiple trait integration in oil palm breeding. Genes, 11(7), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11070826

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Superior oil yield is always the top priority of the oil palm industry. Short trunk height (THT) and compactness traits have become increasingly important to improve harvesting efficiency sinc... Read More about Major qtls for trunk height and correlated agronomic traits provide insights into multiple trait integration in oil palm breeding.

Transcriptome-wide identification and characterization of the Rab GTPase family in mango (2020)
Journal Article
Lawson, T., Lycett, G. W., Mayes, S., Ho, W. K., & Chin, C. F. (2020). Transcriptome-wide identification and characterization of the Rab GTPase family in mango. Molecular Biology Reports, 47, 4183–4197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-05519-y

© 2020, Springer Nature B.V. The Rab GTPase family plays a vital role in several plant physiological processes including fruit ripening. Fruit softening during ripening involves trafficking of cell wall polymers and enzymes between cellular compartme... Read More about Transcriptome-wide identification and characterization of the Rab GTPase family in mango.

Root foraging capacity in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) core parental lines depends on the root system architecture during the pre-flowering stage (2020)
Journal Article
Mateva, K. I., Mateva, K., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., & Chai, H. H. (2020). Root foraging capacity in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) core parental lines depends on the root system architecture during the pre-flowering stage. Plants, 9(5), https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050645

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Characterizing the morphological variability in root system architecture (RSA) during the sensitive pre-flowering growth stage is important for crop performance. To assess this variation, eigh... Read More about Root foraging capacity in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) core parental lines depends on the root system architecture during the pre-flowering stage.

Understanding the genetic relationships between Indonesian bambara groundnut landraces and investigating their origins (2020)
Journal Article
Redjeki, E. S., Ho, W. K., Shah, N., Molosiwa, O. O., Ardiarini, N. R., Kuswanto, , & Mayes, S. (2020). Understanding the genetic relationships between Indonesian bambara groundnut landraces and investigating their origins. Genome, 63(6), 319-327. https://doi.org/10.1139/gen-2019-0137

A total of 170 bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) accessions were evaluated using both simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated using genotyping-by-sequencing (GbS), of which 56 accessions were collec... Read More about Understanding the genetic relationships between Indonesian bambara groundnut landraces and investigating their origins.

Bridging the food security gap: an information-led approach to connect dietary nutrition, food composition and crop production (2019)
Journal Article
Azman Halimi, R., Barkla, B. J., Andrés‐Hernandéz, L., Mayes, S., & King, G. J. (2020). Bridging the food security gap: an information-led approach to connect dietary nutrition, food composition and crop production. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(4), 1495-1504. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10157

© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry BACKGROUND: Food security is recognized as a major global challenge, yet human food-chain systems are inherently not geared towards nutrition, with decisions on crop and cultivar choice not informed by dietary comp... Read More about Bridging the food security gap: an information-led approach to connect dietary nutrition, food composition and crop production.

A practical genome-enabled legitimacy assay for oil palm breeding and seed production (2019)
Journal Article
Teh, C., Lee, H., Abidin, H., Ong, A., Mayes, S., Chew, F., & Appleton, D. (2019). A practical genome-enabled legitimacy assay for oil palm breeding and seed production. BMC Plant Biology, 19(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-2062-x

Background: Legitimacy in breeding and commercial crop production depends on optimised protocols to ensure purity of crosses and correct field planting of material. In oil palm, the presence of three fruit forms permits these assumptions to be tested... Read More about A practical genome-enabled legitimacy assay for oil palm breeding and seed production.

Bambara groundnut : an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change (2019)
Journal Article
Mayes, S., Ho, W. K., Chai, H. H., Gao, X., Kundy, A. C., Mateva, K. I., …Azam-Ali, S. (2019). Bambara groundnut : an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change. Planta, 250(3), 803-820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03191-6

World agriculture is currently based on very limited numbers of crops, representing a significant risk to food supplies, particularly in the face of climate change which is expected to increase the frequency of extreme events. Minor and underutilised... Read More about Bambara groundnut : an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change.

Bambara groundnut: an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change (2019)
Journal Article
Mayes, S., Ho, W. K., Chai, H. H., Gao, X., Kundy, A. C., Mateva, K. I., …Azam-Ali, S. N. (2019). Bambara groundnut: an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change. Planta, 250(3), 803–820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03191-6

Main conclusion Bambara groundnut has the potential to be used to contribute more the climate change ready agriculture. The requirement for nitrogen fixing, stress tolerant legumes is clear, particularly in low input agriculture. However, ensuring th... Read More about Bambara groundnut: an exemplar underutilised legume for resilience under climate change.

Crops For the Future (CFF): an overview of research efforts in the adoption of underutilised species (2019)
Journal Article
Gregory, P. J., Mayes, S., Hui, C. H., Jahanshiri, E., Julkifle, A., Kuppusamy, G., …Azam-Ali, S. N. (2019). Crops For the Future (CFF): an overview of research efforts in the adoption of underutilised species. Planta, 250(3), 979-988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03179-2

Main conclusion Crops For the Future (CFF), as an entity, has established a broad range of research activities to promote the improvement and adoption of currently underutilised crops. Abstract This paper summarises selected research activities at Cr... Read More about Crops For the Future (CFF): an overview of research efforts in the adoption of underutilised species.

Linkage-based genome assembly improvement of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) (2019)
Journal Article
Ong, A., Teh, C., Kwong, Q., Tangaya, P., Appleton, D. R., Massawe, F., & Mayes, S. (2019). Linkage-based genome assembly improvement of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Scientific Reports, 9(1), Article 6619. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42989-y

Meiotic crossovers in outbred species, such as oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq., 2n = 32) contribute to allelic re-assortment in the genome. Such genetic variation is usually exploited in breeding to combine positive alleles for trait superiority. A... Read More about Linkage-based genome assembly improvement of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis).

Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for food and nutritional security: synthesis of past research and future direction (2019)
Journal Article
Tanzi, A. S., Eagleton, G. E., Ho, W. K., Wong, Q. N., Mayes, S., & Massawe, F. (2019). Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for food and nutritional security: synthesis of past research and future direction. Planta, 250(3), 911–931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03141-2

Reliance on a handful of “major” crops has led to decreased diversity in crop species, agricultural systems and human diets. To reverse this trend, we need to encourage the greater use of minor, “orphan”, underutilised species. These could contribute... Read More about Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for food and nutritional security: synthesis of past research and future direction.

Prospects of orphan crops in climate change (2019)
Journal Article
Mabhaudhi, T., Chimonyo, V. G. P., Hlahla, S., Massawe, F., Mayes, S., Nhamo, L., & Modi, A. T. (2019). Prospects of orphan crops in climate change. Planta, 250(3), 695-708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03129-y

Main conclusion Orphan crops can contribute to building resilience of marginal cropping systems as a climate chnage adaptation strategy. Orphan crops play an important role in global food and nutrition security, and may have potential to contribute t... Read More about Prospects of orphan crops in climate change.

Development and interaction between plant architecture and yield-related traits in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) (2019)
Journal Article
Tanzi, A. S., Ho, W. K., Massawe, F., & Mayes, S. (2019). Development and interaction between plant architecture and yield-related traits in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.). Euphytica, 215(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-019-2359-8

Winged bean (P. tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) is a leguminous crop that could contribute towards food security in tropical areas, but whose growth and development is still poorly understood. In order to develop improved individuals for increased green pod... Read More about Development and interaction between plant architecture and yield-related traits in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.).

Bambara Groundnut is a Climate-Resilient Crop: How Could a Drought-Tolerant and Nutritious Legume Improve Community Resilience in the Face of Climate Change? (2019)
Book Chapter
Feldman, A., Ho, W. K., Massawe, F., & Mayes, S. (2019). Bambara Groundnut is a Climate-Resilient Crop: How Could a Drought-Tolerant and Nutritious Legume Improve Community Resilience in the Face of Climate Change?. In Sustainable Solutions for Food Security: Combating Climate Change by Adaptation (150-167). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77878-5_8

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.; www.bamyield.org) is a crop similar in morphology and growth habit to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). It was also historically largely displaced by groundnut upon the latter’s introduction to sub-Sah... Read More about Bambara Groundnut is a Climate-Resilient Crop: How Could a Drought-Tolerant and Nutritious Legume Improve Community Resilience in the Face of Climate Change?.

Crop Diversification Through a Wider Use of Underutilised Crops: A Strategy to Ensure Food and Nutrition Security in the Face of Climate Change (2019)
Book Chapter
Mustafa, M. A., Mayes, S., & Massawe, F. (2019). Crop Diversification Through a Wider Use of Underutilised Crops: A Strategy to Ensure Food and Nutrition Security in the Face of Climate Change. In Sustainable Solutions for Food Security: Combating Climate Change by Adaptation (125-149). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77878-5_7

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. Global dependence on only a few crops for food and non-food uses is risky due to the multifaceted challenges that crop production faces. One such challenge is climate change and its effects on food production. E... Read More about Crop Diversification Through a Wider Use of Underutilised Crops: A Strategy to Ensure Food and Nutrition Security in the Face of Climate Change.

The draft genomes of five agriculturally important African orphan crops (2018)
Journal Article
Chang, Y., Liu, H., Liu, M., Liao, X., Sahu, S. K., Fu, Y., …Liu, X. (2019). The draft genomes of five agriculturally important African orphan crops. GigaScience, 8(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giy152

Background: Continuous growth of the world population is expected to double the worldwide demand for food by 2050. Eighty-eight percent of countries current face a serious burden of malnutrition, especially in Africa and South and South-East Asia. Ab... Read More about The draft genomes of five agriculturally important African orphan crops.

Putative regulatory candidate genes for QTL linked to fruit traits in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) (2018)
Journal Article
Ting, N., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., Sambanthamurthi, R., Jansen, J., Shahrul Rabiah Syed Alwee, S., …Singh, R. (2018). Putative regulatory candidate genes for QTL linked to fruit traits in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Euphytica, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-018-2296-y

Palm oil is among the most important vegetable oils, contributing to a quarter of the world’s oils and fats market. The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) fruitlets, which are the source of palm oil, vary from 8eight to 20 g in weight. Palm oil conte... Read More about Putative regulatory candidate genes for QTL linked to fruit traits in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.).

Plant Rabs and the role in fruit ripening (2018)
Journal Article
Lawson, T., Mayes, S., Lycett, G. W., & Chin, C. F. (2018). Plant Rabs and the role in fruit ripening. Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews, 34(2), 181-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/02648725.2018.1482092

Fruit ripening is a complex developmental process that involves the synthesis and modification of the cell wall leading up to the formation of an edible fruit. During the period of fruit ripening, new cell wall polymers and enzymes are synthesized an... Read More about Plant Rabs and the role in fruit ripening.

Evaluation of methods and marker systems in genomic selection of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) (2017)
Journal Article
Kwong, Q. B., Teh, C. K., Ong, A. L., Chew, F. T., Mayes, S., Kulaveerasingam, H., …Harikrishna, J. A. (2017). Evaluation of methods and marker systems in genomic selection of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). BMC Genetics, 18(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-017-0576-5

Background Genomic selection (GS) uses genome-wide markers as an attempt to accelerate genetic gain in breeding programs of both animals and plants. This approach is particularly useful for perennial crops such as oil palm, which have long breedin... Read More about Evaluation of methods and marker systems in genomic selection of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.).

High density SNP and DArT-based genetic linkage maps of two closely related oil palm populations (2017)
Journal Article
Gan, S. T., Wong, W. C., Wong, C. K., Soh, A. C., Kilian, A., Low, E. L., …Mayes, S. (in press). High density SNP and DArT-based genetic linkage maps of two closely related oil palm populations. Journal of Applied Genetics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13353-017-0420-7

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is an outbreeding perennial tree crop with long breeding cycles, typically 12 years. Molecular marker technologies can greatly improve the breeding efficiency of oil palm. This study reports the first use of the DAr... Read More about High density SNP and DArT-based genetic linkage maps of two closely related oil palm populations.

Microsatellite analysis of populations of the endangered tree Gomortega keule suggests pre-Columbian differentiation (2017)
Journal Article
Munoz-Concha, D., Davey, M. R., Ribas, G., & Mayes, S. (in press). Microsatellite analysis of populations of the endangered tree Gomortega keule suggests pre-Columbian differentiation. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 55(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2017.1343737

Temperate forests have been affected extensively by human activities, resulting in land cover changes and population fragmentation. However, these anthropogenic effects can be superimposed onto the natural history of species, making it difficult to d... Read More about Microsatellite analysis of populations of the endangered tree Gomortega keule suggests pre-Columbian differentiation.

Differential gene expression at different stages of mesocarp development in high- and low-yielding oil palm (2017)
Journal Article
Wong, Y. C., Teh, H. F., Mebus, K., Ooi, T. E. K., Kwong, Q. B., Koo, K. L., …Kulaveerasingam, H. (2017). Differential gene expression at different stages of mesocarp development in high- and low-yielding oil palm. BMC Genomics, 18(1), Article 470. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-017-3855-7

Background The oil yield trait of oil palm is expected to involve multiple genes, environmental influences and interactions. Many of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to oil yield are still poorly understood. In this study, we used a micro... Read More about Differential gene expression at different stages of mesocarp development in high- and low-yielding oil palm.

Characterizing haploinsufficiency of SHELL gene to improve fruit form prediction in introgressive hybrids of oil palm (2017)
Journal Article
Teh, C. K., Muaz, S. D., Tangaya, P., Fong, P., Ong, A. L., Mayes, S., …Appleton, D. R. (in press). Characterizing haploinsufficiency of SHELL gene to improve fruit form prediction in introgressive hybrids of oil palm. Scientific Reports, 7(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03225-7

The fundamental trait in selective breeding of oil palm (Eleais guineensis Jacq.) is the shell thickness surrounding the kernel. The monogenic shell thickness is inversely correlated to mesocarp thickness, where the crude palm oil accumulates. Commer... Read More about Characterizing haploinsufficiency of SHELL gene to improve fruit form prediction in introgressive hybrids of oil palm.

Genomic selection in commercial perennial crops: applicability and improvement in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) (2017)
Journal Article
Kwong, Q. B., Ong, A. L., Teh, C. K., Chew, F. T., Tammi, M., Mayes, S., …Appleton, D. R. (in press). Genomic selection in commercial perennial crops: applicability and improvement in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Scientific Reports, 7, Article 2872. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02602-6

Genomic selection (GS) uses genome-wide markers to select individuals with the desired overall combination of breeding traits. A total of 1,218 individuals from a commercial population of Ulu Remis x AVROS (UR x AVROS) were genotyped using the OP20... Read More about Genomic selection in commercial perennial crops: applicability and improvement in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.).

A transcriptomic comparison of two Bambara groundnut landraces under dehydration stress (2017)
Journal Article
Khan, F., Chai, H. H., Ajmera, I., Hodgman, C., Mayes, S., & Lu, C. (2017). A transcriptomic comparison of two Bambara groundnut landraces under dehydration stress. Genes, 8(4), Article 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes8040121

The ability to grow crops under low-water conditions is a significant advantage in relation to global food security. Bambara groundnut is an underutilised crop grown by subsistence farmers in Africa and is known to survive in regions of water deficit... Read More about A transcriptomic comparison of two Bambara groundnut landraces under dehydration stress.

Development of gene?based SSR markers in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for diversity assessment (2017)
Journal Article
Wong, Q., Tanzi, A., Ho, W., Malla, S., Blythe, M., Karunaratne, A., …Mayes, S. (2017). Development of gene‐based SSR markers in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for diversity assessment. Genes, 8(3), Article 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes8030100

Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) is an herbaceous multipurpose legume grown in hot and humid countries as a pulse, vegetable (leaves and pods), or root tuber crop depending on local consumption preferences. In addition to its different nutri... Read More about Development of gene?based SSR markers in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) for diversity assessment.

A cross-species gene expression marker-based genetic map and QTL analysis in bambara groundnut (2017)
Journal Article
Chai, H., Ho, W., Graham, N., May, S., Massawe, F., & Mayes, S. (2017). A cross-species gene expression marker-based genetic map and QTL analysis in bambara groundnut. Genes, 8(3), https://doi.org/10.3390/genes8020084

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is an underutilised legume crop, which has long been recognised as a protein-rich and drought-tolerant crop, used extensively in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the study was to identify quantitative t... Read More about A cross-species gene expression marker-based genetic map and QTL analysis in bambara groundnut.

Integrating genetic maps in bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.] and their syntenic relationships among closely related legumes (2017)
Journal Article
Ho, W. K., Chai, H. H., Kendabie, P., Ahmad, N. S., Jani, J., Massawe, F., …Mayes, S. (2017). Integrating genetic maps in bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.] and their syntenic relationships among closely related legumes. BMC Genomics, 18, Article 192. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-016-3393-8

Background Bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.] is an indigenous legume crop grown mainly in subsistence and small-scale agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa for its nutritious seeds and its tolerance to drought and poor soils. Given that... Read More about Integrating genetic maps in bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L) Verdc.] and their syntenic relationships among closely related legumes.

Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat (2017)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Fernando, K., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (in press). Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat. Annals of Botany, 119(7), https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx001

Background and Aims: Plant roots growing underground are critical for soil resource acquisition, anchorage and plant-environment interactions. In wheat (Triticum aestivum), however, the target root traits to improve yield potential still remain large... Read More about Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat.

Image-based 3D canopy reconstruction to determine potential productivity in complex multi-species crop systems (2017)
Journal Article
Burgess, A. J., Retkute, R., Pound, M. P., Mayes, S., & Murchie, E. H. (2017). Image-based 3D canopy reconstruction to determine potential productivity in complex multi-species crop systems. Annals of Botany, 119(4), 517-532. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcw242

Background and Aims: Intercropping systems contain two or more species simultaneously in close proximity. Due to contrasting features of the component crops, quantification of the light environment and photosynthetic productivity is extremely difficu... Read More about Image-based 3D canopy reconstruction to determine potential productivity in complex multi-species crop systems.

Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat (2016)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2016). Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat. European Journal of Agronomy, 81, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.08.007

The preanthesis period in wheat is critical for growth of plant organs including leaves, stems, spikes and roots. However, the roles of the preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs in yield determination are only partially elucidate... Read More about Preanthesis biomass accumulation of plant and plant organs defines yield components in wheat.

Use of microsatellite markers for the assessment of bambara groundnut breeding system and varietal purity before genome sequencing (2016)
Journal Article
Ho, W. K., Muchugi, A., Muthemba, S., Kariba, R., Mavenkeni, B. O., Hendre, P., …Mayes, S. (2016). Use of microsatellite markers for the assessment of bambara groundnut breeding system and varietal purity before genome sequencing. Genome, 59(6), 427-431. https://doi.org/10.1139/gen-2016-0029

Maximizing the research output from a limited investment is often the major challenge for minor and underutilized crops. However, such crops may be tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses and are adapted to local, marginal, and low-input environments... Read More about Use of microsatellite markers for the assessment of bambara groundnut breeding system and varietal purity before genome sequencing.

Development and validation of a high-density SNP genotyping array for African Oil Palm (2016)
Journal Article
Kwong, Q. B., Teh, C. K., Ong, A. L., Heng, H. Y., Lee, H. L., Mohamed, M., …Appleton, D. R. (2016). Development and validation of a high-density SNP genotyping array for African Oil Palm. Molecular Plant, 9(8), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2016.04.010

High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays are powerful tools that can measure the level of genetic polymorphism within a population. To develop a whole-genome SNP array for oil palms, SNP discovery was performed using deep r... Read More about Development and validation of a high-density SNP genotyping array for African Oil Palm.

Identification of novel quantitative trait loci for resistance to Fusarium seedling blight caused by Microdochium majus and M. nivale in wheat (2016)
Journal Article
Ren, R., Foulkes, J., Mayes, S., Yang, X., & Ray, R. V. (2016). Identification of novel quantitative trait loci for resistance to Fusarium seedling blight caused by Microdochium majus and M. nivale in wheat. Field Crops Research, 191, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2016.03.011

Microdochium nivale and Microdochium majus are important causal agents of Fusarium seedling blight (FSB) and Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and other cereals worldwide. A doubled-haploid population derived from a cross between the winter wheat R... Read More about Identification of novel quantitative trait loci for resistance to Fusarium seedling blight caused by Microdochium majus and M. nivale in wheat.

Identification of gene modules associated with low temperatures response in Bambara groundnut by network-based analysis (2016)
Journal Article
Bonthala, V. S., Mayes, S., Moreton, J., Blythe, M. J., Wright, V., May, S., …Twycross, J. (2016). Identification of gene modules associated with low temperatures response in Bambara groundnut by network-based analysis. PLoS ONE, 11(2), Article e0148771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148771

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is an African legume and is a promising underutilized crop with good seed nutritional values. Low temperature stress in a number of African countries at night, such as Botswana, can effect the growth... Read More about Identification of gene modules associated with low temperatures response in Bambara groundnut by network-based analysis.

Early anthesis and delayed but fast leaf senescence contribute to individual grain dry matter and water accumulation in wheat (2015)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2016). Early anthesis and delayed but fast leaf senescence contribute to individual grain dry matter and water accumulation in wheat. Field Crops Research, 187, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.12.009

Effects of mild drought stress on the morpho-physiological characteristics of a bambara groundnut segregating population (2015)
Journal Article
Chai, H. H., MAYES, S., & Massawe, F. (2016). Effects of mild drought stress on the morpho-physiological characteristics of a bambara groundnut segregating population. Euphytica, 208(2), 225-236. doi:10.1007/s10681-015-1581-2

Spelt as a genetic resource for yield component improvement in bread wheat (2015)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2015). Spelt as a genetic resource for yield component improvement in bread wheat. Crop Science, 55(6), 2753-2765. doi:10.2135/cropsci2014.12.0842

Novel germplasm resources are required to broaden the genetic diversity of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for further yield improvement. In this study, the usefulness of spelt (T. spelta L.) as a genetic resource to improve yield components of br... Read More about Spelt as a genetic resource for yield component improvement in bread wheat.

Optimizing tiller production and survival for grain yield improvement in a bread wheat × spelt mapping population (2015)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2015). Optimizing tiller production and survival for grain yield improvement in a bread wheat × spelt mapping population. Annals of Botany, 117(1), https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcv147

Background and Aims: Tiller production and survival determine final spike number, and play key roles in grain yield formation in wheat (Triticum aestivum). This study aimed to understand the genetic and physiological basis of the tillering process, a... Read More about Optimizing tiller production and survival for grain yield improvement in a bread wheat × spelt mapping population.

Carpel size, grain filling, and morphology determine individual grain weight in wheat (2015)
Journal Article
Xie, Q., Mayes, S., & Sparkes, D. L. (2015). Carpel size, grain filling, and morphology determine individual grain weight in wheat. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(21), https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erv378

Individual grain weight is a major yield component in wheat. To provide a comprehensive understanding of grain weight determination, the carpel size at anthesis, grain dry matter accumulation, grain water uptake and loss, grain morphological expansio... Read More about Carpel size, grain filling, and morphology determine individual grain weight in wheat.

Relationships between physiological traits, grain number and yield potential in a wheat DH population of large spike phenotype (2014)
Journal Article
Sparkes, D., Gaju, O., Mayes, S., Reynolds, M. P., Foulkes, J., Ribas-Vargas, G., & Crossa, J. (2014). Relationships between physiological traits, grain number and yield potential in a wheat DH population of large spike phenotype. Field Crops Research, 164, 126-135. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2014.05.015

Genetical and comparative genomics of Brassica under altered Ca supply identifies Arabidopsis Ca-transporter orthologs (2014)
Journal Article
Graham, N. S., Hammond, J. P., Lysenko, A., Mayes, S., Ó Lochlainn, S., Blasco, B., …Broadley, M. R. (in press). Genetical and comparative genomics of Brassica under altered Ca supply identifies Arabidopsis Ca-transporter orthologs. Plant Cell, 26(7),

Although Ca transport in plants is highly complex, the overexpression of vacuolar Ca2+ transporters in crops is a promising new technology to improve dietary Ca supplies through biofortification. Here, we sought to identify novel targets for increasi... Read More about Genetical and comparative genomics of Brassica under altered Ca supply identifies Arabidopsis Ca-transporter orthologs.

High density SNP and SSR-based genetic maps of two independent oil palm hybrids (2014)
Journal Article
Ting, N., Massawe, F., Jansen, J., Mayes, S., Sambanthamurthi, R., Ooi, L. C., …Singh, R. (2014). High density SNP and SSR-based genetic maps of two independent oil palm hybrids. BMC Genomics, 15(1), Article 309. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-15-309

Development of microsatellite markers and detection of genetic variation between Goniozus wasp populations (2014)
Journal Article
Khidr, S. K., Hardy, I. C., Zaviezo, T., & Mayes, S. (2014). Development of microsatellite markers and detection of genetic variation between Goniozus wasp populations. Journal of Insect Science, 14(43), https://doi.org/10.1673/031.014.43

Molecular genetic markers reveal differences between genotypes according to the presence of alleles (the same or different) at target loci. Microsatellite markers are especially useful codominant markers that have been used in a wide range of studies... Read More about Development of microsatellite markers and detection of genetic variation between Goniozus wasp populations.

Pigeons: a novel GUI software for analysing and parsing high density heterologous oligonucleotide microarray probe level data (2014)
Journal Article
Lai, H., May, S., & Mayes, S. (2014). Pigeons: a novel GUI software for analysing and parsing high density heterologous oligonucleotide microarray probe level data. Microarrays, 3(1), https://doi.org/10.3390/microarrays3010001

Genomic DNA-based probe selection by using high density oligonucleotide arrays has recently been applied to heterologous species (Xspecies). With the advent of this new approach, researchers are able to study the genome and transcriptome of a non-mod... Read More about Pigeons: a novel GUI software for analysing and parsing high density heterologous oligonucleotide microarray probe level data.