Liang Zhang , Xue Qi , Honghu Ji , Ziyu Zhong , Meiqiao Jiang , Linrun Cheng

1 Jinhua Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Jinhua Key Laboratory of Innovative Utilization of Special Grain Crops Resources in Central Zhejiang Province , Jinhua, 321017, Zhejiang, China
2 Agricultural Technology Extension Station, Wucheng District, Jinhua City, Jinhua, 321017, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Bioscience Methods, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 6   
Received: 11 Oct., 2024    Accepted: 20 Nov., 2024    Published: 14 Dec., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a globally important crop, and its genetic diversity is vital for breeding programs aimed at enhancing disease resistance, yield, and stress tolerance. Genetic diversity studies provide crucial insights for crop improvement, but the vast amount of data across various regions remains underutilized. This study synthesizes findings from global genetic diversity studies on sweet potato, focusing on the geographic distribution of germplasm, genetic markers employed, and regional variability. Our analysis reveals key trends in diversity levels, highlights the impact of breeding practices, and identifies regions where germplasm variability is highest. These findings have important implications for breeding strategies, providing guidance on selecting traits for improvement and integrating diversity data into breeding programs. This study concludes by recommending the incorporation of emerging genomic technologies and bioinformatics tools to enhance the efficiency of sweet potato breeding efforts, and provides a roadmap for future breeding initiatives to maximize the use of genetic diversity for crop improvement.

Sweet potato; Genetic diversity; Breeding strategies; Meta-analysis; Germplasm