scholarly journals Genomic Selection in an Outcrossing Autotetraploid Fruit Crop: Lessons From Blueberry Breeding

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Felipe V. Ferrão ◽  
Rodrigo R. Amadeu ◽  
Juliana Benevenuto ◽  
Ivone de Bem Oliveira ◽  
Patricio R. Munoz

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum and hybrids) is a specialty crop with expanding production and consumption worldwide. The blueberry breeding program at the University of Florida (UF) has greatly contributed to expanding production areas by developing low-chilling cultivars better adapted to subtropical and Mediterranean climates of the globe. The breeding program has historically focused on recurrent phenotypic selection. As an autopolyploid, outcrossing, perennial, long juvenile phase crop, blueberry breeding cycles are costly and time consuming, which results in low genetic gains per unit of time. Motivated by applying molecular markers for a more accurate selection in the early stages of breeding, we performed pioneering genomic selection studies and optimization for its implementation in the blueberry breeding program. We have also addressed some complexities of sequence-based genotyping and model parametrization for an autopolyploid crop, providing empirical contributions that can be extended to other polyploid species. We herein revisited some of our previous genomic selection studies and showed for the first time its application in an independent validation set. In this paper, our contribution is three-fold: (i) summarize previous results on the relevance of model parametrizations, such as diploid or polyploid methods, and inclusion of dominance effects; (ii) assess the importance of sequence depth of coverage and genotype dosage calling steps; (iii) demonstrate the real impact of genomic selection on leveraging breeding decisions by using an independent validation set. Altogether, we propose a strategy for using genomic selection in blueberry, with the potential to be applied to other polyploid species of a similar background.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Felipe V. Ferrão ◽  
Rodrigo R. Amadeu ◽  
Juliana Benevenuto ◽  
Ivone de Bem Oliveira ◽  
Patricio R. Munoz

AbstractBlueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum and hybrids) is a specialty crop, with expanding production and consumption worldwide. The blueberry breeding program at the University of Florida (UF) has greatly contributed to the expansion of production areas by developing low-chilling cultivars better adapted to subtropical and Mediterranean climates of the globe. The breeding program has historically focused on phenotypic recurrent selection. As an autopolyploid, outcrossing, perennial, long juvenile phase crop, blueberry’s breeding cycles are costly and time-consuming, which results in low genetic gains per unit of time. Motivated by the application of molecular markers for a more accurate selection in early stages of breeding, we performed pioneering genomic prediction studies and optimization for implementation in the blueberry breeding program. We have also addressed some complexities of sequence-based geno- typing and model parametrization for an autopolyploid crop, providing empirical contributions that can be extended to other polyploid species. We herein revisited some of our previous genomic prediction studies and described the current achievements in the crop. In this paper, our contribution for genomic prediction in an autotetraploid crop is three-fold: i) summarize previous results on the relevance of model parametrizations, such as diploid or polyploid methods, and inclusion of dominance effects; ii) assess the importance of sequence depth of coverage and genotype dosage calling steps; iii) demonstrate the real impact of genomic selection on leveraging breeding decisions by using an independent validation set. Altogether, we propose a strategy for the use of genomic selection in blueberry, with potential to be applied to other polyploid species of a similar background.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Bančič ◽  
Christian R. Werner ◽  
R. Chris Gaynor ◽  
Gregor Gorjanc ◽  
Damaris A. Odeny ◽  
...  

Intercrop breeding programs using genomic selection can produce faster genetic gain than intercrop breeding programs using phenotypic selection. Intercropping is an agricultural practice in which two or more component crops are grown together. It can lead to enhanced soil structure and fertility, improved weed suppression, and better control of pests and diseases. Especially in subsistence agriculture, intercropping has great potential to optimize farming and increase profitability. However, breeding for intercrop varieties is complex as it requires simultaneous improvement of two or more component crops that combine well in the field. We hypothesize that genomic selection can significantly simplify and accelerate the process of breeding crops for intercropping. Therefore, we used stochastic simulation to compare four different intercrop breeding programs implementing genomic selection and an intercrop breeding program entirely based on phenotypic selection. We assumed three different levels of genetic correlation between monocrop grain yield and intercrop grain yield to investigate how the different breeding strategies are impacted by this factor. We found that all four simulated breeding programs using genomic selection produced significantly more intercrop genetic gain than the phenotypic selection program regardless of the genetic correlation with monocrop yield. We suggest a genomic selection strategy which combines monocrop and intercrop trait information to predict general intercropping ability to increase selection accuracy in the early stages of a breeding program and to minimize the generation interval.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3783-3795
Author(s):  
Hadi Esfandyari ◽  
Dario Fè ◽  
Biructawit Bekele Tessema ◽  
Lucas L. Janss ◽  
Just Jensen

Genomic selection (GS) is a potential pathway to accelerate genetic gain for perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The main objectives of the present study were to investigate the level of genetic gain and accuracy by applying GS in commercial perennial ryegrass breeding programs. Different scenarios were compared to a conventional breeding program. Simulated scenarios differed in the method of selection and structure of the breeding program. Two scenarios (Phen-Y12 and Phen) for phenotypic selection and three scenarios (GS-Y12, GS and GS-SP) were considered for genomic breeding schemes. All breeding schemes were simulated for 25 cycles. The amount of genetic gain achieved was different across scenarios. Compared to phenotypic scenarios, GS scenarios resulted in substantially larger genetic gain for the simulated traits. This was mainly due to more efficient selection of plots and single plants based on genomic estimated breeding values. Also, GS allows for reduction in waiting time for the availability of the superior genetic materials from previous cycles, which led to at least a doubling or a trebling of genetic gain compared to the traditional program. Reduction in additive genetic variance levels were higher with GS scenarios than with phenotypic selection. The results demonstrated that implementation of GS in ryegrass breeding is possible and presents an opportunity to make very significant improvements in genetic gains.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biructawit Bekele Tessema ◽  
Huiming Liu ◽  
Anders Christian Sørensen ◽  
Jeppe Reitan Andersen ◽  
Just Jensen

Conventional wheat-breeding programs involve crossing parental lines and subsequent selfing of the offspring for several generations to obtain inbred lines. Such a breeding program takes more than 8 years to develop a variety. Although wheat-breeding programs have been running for many years, genetic gain has been limited. However, the use of genomic information as selection criterion can increase selection accuracy and that would contribute to increased genetic gain. The main objective of this study was to quantify the increase in genetic gain by implementing genomic selection in traditional wheat-breeding programs. In addition, we investigated the effect of genetic correlation between different traits on genetic gain. A stochastic simulation was used to evaluate wheat-breeding programs that run simultaneously for 25 years with phenotypic or genomic selection. Genetic gain and genetic variance of wheat-breeding program based on phenotypes was compared to the one with genomic selection. Genetic gain from the wheat-breeding program based on genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) has tripled compared to phenotypic selection. Genomic selection is a promising strategy for improving genetic gain in wheat-breeding programs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Esfandyari ◽  
Dario Fè ◽  
Biructawit Bekele Tessema ◽  
Lucas L. Janss ◽  
Just Jensen

AbstractGenomic selection (GS) is a potential pathway to accelerate genetic gain for perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The main objectives of the present study were to investigate the level of genetic gain and accuracy by applying GS in commercial perennial ryegrass breeding programs. Different scenarios were compared to a conventional breeding program. Simulated scenarios differed in the method of selection and structure of the breeding program. Two scenarios (Phen-Y12 and Phen) for phenotypic selection and three scenarios (GS-Y12, GS and GS-SP) were considered for genomic breeding schemes. All breeding schemes were simulated for 25 cycles. The amount of genetic gain achieved was different across scenarios. Compared to phenotypic scenarios, GS scenarios resulted in a significantly larger genetic gain for the simulated traits. This was mainly due to more efficient selection of plots and single plants based on GEBV. Also, GS allows for reduction in cycle time, which led to at least a doubling or a trebling of genetic gain compared to the traditional program. Reduction in additive genetic variance levels were higher with GS scenarios than with phenotypic selection. The results demonstrated that implementation of GS in ryegrass breeding is possible and presents an opportunity to make very significant improvements in genetic gains.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Bančič ◽  
Christian Werner ◽  
Chris Gaynor ◽  
Gregor Gorjanc ◽  
Damaris Odeny ◽  
...  

AbstractIntercrop breeding programs using genomic selection can produce faster genetic gain than intercrop breeding programs using phenotypic selection. Intercropping is an agricultural practice in which two or more component crops are grown together. It can lead to enhanced soil structure and fertility, improved weed suppression, and better control of pests and diseases. Especially in subsistence agriculture, intercropping has great potential to optimise farming and increase profitability. However, breeding for intercrop varieties is complex as it requires simultaneous improvement of two or more component crops that combine well in the field. We hypothesize that genomic selection can significantly simplify and accelerate the process of breeding crops for intercropping. Therefore, we used stochastic simulation to compare four different intercrop breeding programs implementing genomic selection and an intercrop breeding program entirely based on phenotypic selection. We assumed three different levels of genetic correlation between monocrop grain yield and intercrop grain yield to investigate how the different breeding strategies are impacted by this factor. We found that all four simulated breeding programs using genomic selection produced significantly more intercrop genetic gain than the phenotypic selection program regardless of the genetic correlation with monocrop yield. We suggest a genomic selection strategy which combines monocrop and intercrop trait information to predict general intercropping ability to increase selection accuracy in early stages of a breeding program and to minimize the generation interval.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F. Azevedo ◽  
M.D.V. Resende ◽  
F.F. Silva ◽  
J.M.S. Viana ◽  
M.S.F. Valente ◽  
...  

EDIS ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent K. Harbaugh ◽  
Zhanao Deng

ENH-1066, a 5-page fact sheet by Brent K. Harbaugh and Zhanao Deng, reports the release of these cultivars appropriate for flowering potted plants, with intermediate height and a spray-type flower display. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, February 2007.


EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2016 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Rodrick Z. Mwatuwa ◽  
Christian T, Christensen ◽  
Lincoln Zotarelli

This article introduces the potato variety, ‘Atlantic’, which was tested in trials at the University of Florida.’Atlantic’ is a white-skinned, chipping potato commonly cultivated in Florida and resealed as a white mutant of the USDA breeding program. This three-page fact sheet provides the general characteristics, season length and growth information, fertilization and planting instructions, as well as disease information for the potato variety, ‘Atlantic’. Written by Rodrick Z. Mwatuwa, Christian T. Christensen, and Lincoln Zotarelli, and published by the Horticultural Sciences Department. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1278


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Obšteter ◽  
Janez Jenko ◽  
Gregor Gorjanc

This paper evaluates the potential of maximizing genetic gain in dairy cattle breeding by optimizing investment into phenotyping and genotyping. Conventional breeding focuses on phenotyping selection candidates or their close relatives to maximize selection accuracy for breeders and quality assurance for producers. Genomic selection decoupled phenotyping and selection and through this increased genetic gain per year compared to the conventional selection. Although genomic selection is established in well-resourced breeding programs, small populations and developing countries still struggle with the implementation. The main issues include the lack of training animals and lack of financial resources. To address this, we simulated a case-study of a small dairy population with a number of scenarios with equal available resources yet varied use of resources for phenotyping and genotyping. The conventional progeny testing scenario collected 11 phenotypic records per lactation. In genomic selection scenarios, we reduced phenotyping to between 10 and 1 phenotypic records per lactation and invested the saved resources into genotyping. We tested these scenarios at different relative prices of phenotyping to genotyping and with or without an initial training population for genomic selection. Reallocating a part of phenotyping resources for repeated milk records to genotyping increased genetic gain compared to the conventional selection scenario regardless of the amount and relative cost of phenotyping, and the availability of an initial training population. Genetic gain increased by increasing genotyping, despite reduced phenotyping. High-genotyping scenarios even saved resources. Genomic selection scenarios expectedly increased accuracy for young non-phenotyped candidate males and females, but also proven females. This study shows that breeding programs should optimize investment into phenotyping and genotyping to maximize return on investment. Our results suggest that any dairy breeding program using conventional progeny testing with repeated milk records can implement genomic selection without increasing the level of investment.


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