Aleksandra Radanović

• PhD
• Senior Research Associate at Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops

Drought stress significantly threatens crop productivity worldwide, requiring a comprehensive understanding of plant adaptations to alleviate its adverse effects. Sunflower, as an important source of edible oil, is greatly affected by drought in different developmental stages. This review investigates the morphological aspects and phenological adap...

Global agricultural productivity and food security are threatened by climate change, the growing world population, and the difficulties posed by the pandemic era. To overcome these challenges and meet food requirements, breeders have applied and implemented different advanced techniques that accelerate plant development and increase crop selection...

Although flower pollinator interactions are known to be mediated by floral traits, not enough attention has been paid to the research of secretory tissues and volatile components of sunflower disc florets as potentially important parameters in breeding programs. (1) To our knowledge, this is the first integrated study aimed at better understanding...

Sunflower is the fourth most important oil plant worldwide and the second most important oil crop in Europe, along with rapeseed. Due to its high content of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as vitamin E, sunflower oil is the preferred type of oil in human nutrition in Europe. That is why, as opposed to other different vegetable oils, c...

Epigenetic modifications play a vital role in the preservation of genome integrity and in the regulation of gene expression. DNA methylation, one of the key mechanisms of epigenetic control, impacts growth, development, stress response and adaptability of all organisms, including plants. The detection of DNA methylation marks is crucial for underst...

Climate change and increased agricultural uncertainty are affecting agricultural resilience and sustainability. Climate change causes various abiotic stresses such as heat stress, drought, waterlogging, and cold stress that are affecting yield and quality of agricultural crops. Plant stresses trigger different and significant changes in plant gene...

The Pannonian Plain, as the most productive region of the South-East Europe, has a long tradition of agronomical production as well as agronomical research and plant breeding. Many research institutions from agri-food sector of this region have a significant impact on agriculture. Their well-developed and fruitful breeding programmes resulted in pr...

Sunflower is considered more tolerant and adaptable to abiotic stresses than many other crops. It can be successfully grown in marginal soils and in semiarid conditions. Hence, sunflower crop stands a very good chance of surviving a changing environment with its broad genetic base and the use of emerging—omics technologies. In the future, it will b...

Sunflower, a relevant crop for oil production in temperature regions, is subjected to various biotic stresses. Significance of a particular stress agent, both spatially and temporally, is determined by the environmental limitations and the pest population variability. This chapter provides a review of the major sunflower diseases and pests, with an...

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly associated with fertility restoration of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) PET1 by the restorer gene Rf1. For these SNPs, four Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers were successfully designed. The KASP markers cover the fertility restorer locus Rf1, spanning about 3 Mb, and clearly d...

Foresight in climate change and the challenges ahead requires a systematic approach to sunflower breeding that will encompass all available technologies. There is a great scarcity of desirable genetic variation, which is in fact undiscovered because it has not been sufficiently researched as detection and designing favorable genetic variation large...

Plant genetic resources are a link between agriculture, environment and trade, so their conservation requires cooperation from different sectors. The existing diversity in genetic resources is the foundation in breeding for new challenges or new markets in the future. The number of crop genetic resources in Serbia is obscure because there is no nat...

To better adapt transiently or lastingly to stimuli from the surrounding environment, the chromatin states in plant cells vary to allow the cells to fine-tune their transcriptional profiles. Modifications of chromatin states involve a wide range of post-transcriptional histone modifications, histone variants, DNA methylation, and activity of non-co...

Broomrape is a root parasitic plant causing yield losses in sunflower production. Since sunflower is an important oil crop, the development of broomrape-resistant hybrids is the prime breeding objective. Using conventional plant breeding methods, breeders have identified resistant genes and developed a number of hybrids resistant to broomrape, adap...

The study assessed the genetic variability among Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. isolates originating from six different countries (Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Ukraine and Serbia), collected mostly from sunflower, but also maize, soybean, flax, common bean and zebra plant. RAPD analysis was based on 154 polymorphic bands obtained with 1...

Oil crops breeding and selection is a continual process designed to increase yield levels and improve resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Breeders have been successful in producing a large number of varieties using conventional breeding methods which vary depending on the species. Appearance of new techniques such as genomic selection and ge...

Hybrid breeding in sunflowers based on CMS PET1 requires development of restorer lines carrying, in most cases, the restorer gene Rf1. Markers for marker-assisted selection have been developed, but there is still need for closer, more versatile, and co-dominant markers linked to Rf1. Homology searches against the reference sunflower genome using se...

Due to its ability to grow in different agroecological conditions and its moderate drought tolerance, sunflower may become the oil crop of preference in the future, especially in the light of global environmental changes. In the field conditions, sunflower crop is often simultaneously challenged by different biotic and abiotic stresses, and underst...

The knowledge about the magnitude and nature of variability that is present in a breeding population is an important prerequisite for designing efficient breeding programme in order to improve the yield potential of genotypes. The objective of this research was to evaluate heritability and genetic advance of important quantitative traits in new cro...

Domestication and the first steps of sunflower breeding date back more than 4000 years. As an interesting crop to humans, sunflower underwent significant changes in the past to finally find its place as one of the most significant oil crops today. Substantial progress has already been made in understanding how sunflower was domesticated. Recent adv...

Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed on twelve rapeseed genotypes from Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia, genepool in order to identify markers that could be used in marker assisted selection (MAS) for different growing type and selection of the varieties with low or zero level of erucic acid....

Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed on twelve rapeseed genotypes from Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia, genepool in order to identify markers that could be used in marker assisted selection (MAS) for different growing type and selection of the varieties with low or zero level of erucic acid....

Sunflower breeding, in the past decades, had lead to significant improvements in sunflower yield, pest resistance, and altered oil composition; however breeding is oriented towards analysis and improvement of above-ground parts, while root development has been significantly neglected. Future breeding efforts that would be aimed at modifying root tr...

The effect of temperature shock on androgenic ability was studied in a large number of different plant species. The optimal temperature and duration of pre-treatment, which will stimulate the androgenesis, is different for each plant species. Androgenic response in sunflower is generally low due to genotype and explant specificity and very low leve...

Remediation methods allow the removal of metals from contaminated soil, and phytoremediation a technology for cleaning contaminated soil and waste material by plants, is becoming increasingly used. Brassica napus L., as one of the main oilcrops and high-biomass producing species, is becoming more and more interesting for the use in phytoextraction...

Genetic resistance to broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) in sunflower is the most effective way to control the parasite. The objective of this study was to determine the inheritance and gene action for broomrape resistance in sunflower inbred line LIV-17. This line was first tested and found to be resistant to broomrape, in heavily infested locati...

Oilcrops breeding and selection is a continual process designed to increase yield levels and improve resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Breeders have been successful in producing a large number of varieties using conventional breeding methods which vary depending on the species. Development of biotechnology, notably genetic transformations,...

Following the trends of food and non-food industries, breeders succeeded in significantly changing the seed composition of oil crops, especially the composition of fatty acids and tocopherols, as well as protein content. Oil crops breeding at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia (IFVCNS) has a successful 50-year long tradi...

According to vegetable oil consumption, rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is the third-leading source of edible oil after palm and soybean. Its oil is used as food, feed and for biodiesel production. Great market demands led to significant increase in cultivation areas, yield and quality of rapeseed worldwide. Mendelian rules represent basics of all cul...

In sunflower, molecular markers for simple traits as, e.g., fertility restoration, high oleic acid content, herbicide tolerance or resistances to Plasmopara halstedii, Puccinia helianthi, or Orobanche cumana have been successfully used in marker-assisted breeding programs for years. However, agronomically important complex quantitative traits like...

High-oleic sunflower oil is in high demand on the market due to its heart-healthy properties and richness in monounsaturated fatty acids that makes it more stable in processing than standard sunflower oil. Consequently, one of sunflower breeder’s tasks is to develop stable high-oleic sunflower genotypes that will produce high quality oil. We analyz...

Ornamental sunflowers are widely cultivated for use as cut flowers and/or as garden plants. The objective of the study was to investigate breeding values of new F 1 ornamental sunflower hybrids using incomplete diallel crossing of four ornamental inbred lines: Heliopa, Talia, Iskra and Neoplanta. Six traits important for ornamental market use were...

Legumes and brassicas have much in common: importance in agricultural history, rich biodiversity, numerous forms of use, high adaptability to diverse farming designs, and various non-food applications. Rare available resources demonstrate intercropping legumes and brassicas as beneficial to both, especially for the latter, profiting from better nit...

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) belongs to the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. It is primarily grown for seeds used for bird feed or as edible oil. Stamens are used in traditional medicine and nutrition. Breeding for high resistance to dry growing conditions has initiated intensive studies of this plant species in recent years. Six safflower ge...

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) oil is appreciated as a high quality commodity. The issue of oil quality of sunflower depends on the purpose of its use in food or non-food industry. In food industry, sunflower oil is used as salad oil, for frying, or for producing margarine and other products. In non-food industry, sunflower oil is used for produc...

Although Cucurbita moschata Duch, also known as tropical pumpkin, is being adapted to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions, it is a scientifically neglected species. Consumers appreciate its fruit due to its sweet and mild taste, as well as high nutritive value. Knowledge of genetic relationships among genotypes is essential for the effecti...

INTRODUCTION: Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is by far the most economically damaging parasitic weed in sunflower and is regarded as the most important constraint in sunflower production in European countries, as well as in the Middle East and Asia. Currently, O. cumana is causing worldwide yield losses between 5-100%. The lack of coordinated...

Providing high quality oil is of great interest for oil companies. When it comes to sunflower oil, there are two types of oil on the market: high linoleic and high oleic. High oleic oil is considered a healthier version of oil, since it rich in omega-9 fatty acids that are oxidative more stable than linoleic fatty acid (omega-6 fatty acid), dominan...

The success of anther culture depends on numerous factors such as genotype, donor plant growing conditions, anther pre-treatment and development stage, as well as incubation conditions. We have investigated the effect of sowing date and sowing density of donor plants on callus induction and shoot regeneration from cultivated sunflower anthers. Anth...

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana) is one of the most important parasitic plants that can drastically reduce sunflower yield. Breeding for resistance is regarded as the most effective and environmentally friendly control measure. Due to the constant changes in broomrape race composition, i.e. the emergence of races F and higher, the majority of the exist...

A rapid laboratory test for detection of tribenuron-methyl resistant sunflower genotypes was developed. Four homozygous and four heterozygous tribenuron-methyl resistant hybrids, as well as a susceptible one were grown on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of herbicide (2.0 μM, 2.5 μM, 3.0 μM, 3.5 μM and 4.0 μM) and with pH either...

Rapeseed is one of the most important sources of edible oil, raw material for industry, as well as feed. The yield and quality of rapeseed have significantly been improved in recent decades as a result of intensive breeding and optimized production technology. The application of Mendel's rules in introducing monogenic traits has also contributed to...

Supplementary material 1 Primer sequences and polymorphism score of the markers from LG3 used for BSA

The successful use of plant breeding for improving desirable traits requires the existence of genetic variability for these traits. Induced mutations are often used to create new genetic variability within a plant species. The objective of this study was to provide new genetic variability that can be exploited for improvement of important agronomic...

In oilcrops, conventional methods are mainly used in breeding, however, progress in molecular biology has enabled the use of new and more accurate tools for selection of the genotypes with desirable traits, as well as the shortening the time of selection. The development of genetic maps, using molecular markers, has improved genetic analysis, enabl...

Abstract Downy mildew is a fungal disease of sunflower that can lead to severe yield losses. The damage caused by the pathogen can be controlled by growing resistant sunflower varieties. Gene Plarg was introgressed into cultivated sunflower from the wild species Helianthus argophyllus and provides resistance against all known downy mildew races. In...

Breeding for downy mildew resistance is one of the major goals in sunflower breeding programmes. In the last few decades new sources of resistance have been discovered and the position of 11 resistance genes was established on the genetic map of sunflower. For most of these resistance genes sequence specific markers have been developed, which facil...

In the present study, thirteen SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats) were employed for screening the level of similarity between sunflower parental lines and progeny obtained in final stages of selection. Another aim of the study was to compare the success of making isogenic lines through selection. Line P (donor line) was used as a donor of downy mildew...

Historical overview of broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) behaviour on sunflower in Serbia is characterized by two epiphytotic occurrences. First, there was epiphytosis of race B in 1950's and then epiphytosis of race E in 1990's. The parasite population in Serbia is stable at the moment as no change in the racial composition has been observed, th...

Orobanche cumana is a parasitic weed that can cause a reduction in sunflower yield of up to 100% in infected areas. New races of broomrape spread due to an extensive use of broomrape resistant sunflower varieties. Up to date, only presence of races B and E was reported in Serbia. In this study, we collected broomrape dry stalks and used them for di...

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a parasitic plant that can cause significant yield losses in sunflower. Race composition in broomrape populations changes constantly, and novel resistance genes need to be discovered and introduced into sunflower. According to results of trials in fields where broomrape races E, F and G were detected, inbred l...

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to detect polymorphism among accessions of wild sunflower species Helianthus maximiliani, Helianthus tuberosus, Helianthus mollis and Helianthus rigidus with different tolerance to mid-stalk white rot and selection of potential markers for different levels of tolerance to this disease. Estim...

Oil crops include highly diverse and world-wide distributed group of species that are grown for oil production. Apart from the use in human nutrition and animal feed, oil crops have a broad commercial application in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Genetic improvements of oil crops have mostly been accomplished by the conventional breedi...

Historical overview of broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) behaviour on sunflower in Serbia is characterized by two epiphytotic occurrences. First, there was epiphytosis of race B in 1950’s and then epiphytosis of race E in 1990’s. The parasite population in Serbia is stable at the moment as no change in the racial composition has been observed, th...

Broomrape is a parasitic plant that significantly decreases yield of sunflower. Breeding for resistance has proved to be the most efficient method for suppressing broomrape infestation in the field; however, new races of parasite constantly emerge, and new resistance genes need to be discovered and introduced into cultivated sunflower lines. The ai...

Ten sunflower commercial female parental lines were evaluated for various parameters under field conditions to estimate genetic parameters, correlation coefficient, and path analyses. Interactions of seed germination, 1000 seed weight, oil and protein content with seed yield were examined. After three years of observations, positive significant cor...

Accurate characterization of broomrape races is of a great importance for creation of sunflower hybrids resistant to this parasite. In molecular diversity studies, it is necessary to isolate sufficient quantity of good quality DNA. As collecting and transporting fresh broomrape tissue and seed samples for molecular analyses can be problematic, we h...

For a successful seed production, it is necessary to know the size, i.e. 1000-seed weight, since it affects the sowing rate, plant density over the vegetative period as well as the seed yield per unit area. The study was conducted in field conditions, on plots where seed production of sunflower hybrids parental components was organized. Seed produc...

Breeding for downy mildew resistance is one of the major goals in sunflower breeding programmes. In the last few decades new sources of resistance have been discovered and the position of 11 resistance genes was established on the genetic map of sunflower. For most of these resistance genes sequence specific markers have been developed, which facil...

Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium solani and F. oxysporum are soil borne species which infect root, stem and collar region of plant host and cause cortical and vascular discoloration. There is need for identification of these pathogens at genus, species and isolate level. Fusarium spp. are mainly cosmopolites while M. phaseolina is prevalent in ari...

Broomrape is an aggressive parasite that penetrates through the roots of the host, absorbs nutrients directly from the vascular system and causes significant reduction in sunflower yield. Genetic resistance proved to be the most efficient method for suppressing severe broomrape attacks in the field; however selection pressure resulted in occurrence...

Sulphonylureas are potent herbicide group that inhibit synthesis of three essential amino acids, valine, leucine and isoleucine. They have proven to be very effective in controlling broad-leaf weeds. Developing herbicide resistant genotypes is of great importance in sunflower breeding. As a part of breeding program of the Institute of Field and Veg...

In sunflower breeding, it takes six to eight years to obtain inbred lines that are homozygous. Dihaploid production enables production of completely homozygous material for less than a year thus accelerating breeding process. The aim of our research was to select optimal medium for induction of shoot regeneration from cultivated sunflower anthers....

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a flowering plant that significantly reduces the yield of sunflower and causes great economic losses. Genetic resistance, obtained by crossing cultivated sunflower with wild relatives, proved to be the most effective way to fight it, but because of the appearance of new races of the pathogen, it is necessary t...