Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Tree breeders and forest geneticists have long sought means
by which they could improve the efficiency, increase the gain, or
reduce the cost of tree improvement through the use of genetic markers.
Dramatic improvements in genomic technologies spurred by development of
next generation sequencing and high throughput genotyping platforms
have brought application clearly within reach.
Coupled with continuous development of bioinformatic tools and
breeding theory our knowledge of genes and genomes
in forest trees makes Marker Informed Breeding (MIB)
and Gene Resource Management tangible options
in the very near term. The group of instructional modules offered
here are intended to offer a comprehensive view of how
MIB and Marker Informed Gene Resource Management may
play an expanding role in tree breeding and ecosystem management.
In 2007, the USDA NRI CSREES
funded a collaborative project called
the Conifer Translational Genomic Network as a CAP,
or Coordinated Agricultural Project.
In 2009, following reorganization, the CTGN project
received renewed funding from the USDA NIFA,
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture program,
for an additional year. It subsequently received a final year of support in 2010.
CAPs are intended to provide a venue
for principles involved in crop and livestock improvement to bring technology to application.
This set of instructional materials is one element
of our projects extension and educational commitment
to translational genomics in forest trees.
Additional activities on this project may be viewed on our project website
The CTGN CAP team draws expertise from
scientists and tree breeders representing five land grant universities,
the US Forest Service, and the Texas Forest Service.
Led by David Neale at the University of California, Davis,
the team is focused on six objectives
as may be noted in this slide.
Scientifically, the project seeks to validate previously
discovered associations between known alleles and phenotypic traits,
discover new associations and define how best
to use this knowledge in applied tree breeding programs.
Team members represent the four largest tree breeding cooperatives in the United States,
responsible for planting nearly 1.3 billion trees a year.
In short, we propose to deliver marker
informed breeding technology to American tree breeders by the
end of the project. The associations discovered here are
intrinsically applicable to natural populations, as well breeding populations
of the species studied: Loblolly Pine, Slash Pine, and Douglas Fir.
We seek to provide
fundamental information to those managing our huge publicly owned national forests populations.
Our outreach goals are to provide education
and extension opportunities to a wide audience.
The objectives of the instructional materials
included in this online course reflect the goals of the project.
Specifically, we aim to provide comprehensive introduction
to the fundamental background science and technology required
to understand and incorporate genetic markers in applied tree breeding
and resource management. We will cover a number of topics that are
individually, the subject of entire university level courses.
Obviously, our treatment will be shallow.
Where possible, we will provide citations and directions on how to find further
information on these topics.
To facilitate ease of access to a broad audience course materials will be
will be provided in multiple formats and organized into modules
that cover one or a few topical areas.
Individual modules may thus be used a supplemental materials to university course
lectures either in their entirety or chosen
selectively to complement course needs.
Modules will be approximately 30 pages in length and be viewed at your own pace.
The course is divided into
16 instructions modules which are organized in three categories:
foundation materials, genetic dissection
of complex traits, and marker informed breeding, and other marker applications.
Instruction begins with presentations on the fundamentals of
genetics and Medelian inheritance, Module 2,
Population genetics, Module 3, and
quantitative genetics, Module four, with particular references to forest trees.
Module five introduces conventional tree breeding
processes and provenance, or common garden testing.
A knowledge of the fundamental elements of all these areas is ultimately necessary
to understand how genetic markers may be employed in tree breeding
or natural population management. This section ends
with a module focused on genetic marker detection and development,
the essential genetic reagents for all subsequent applications.
In forest trees, relatively few traits
of interest to breeders or gene resource managers are simply inherited,
that is controlled by one or a few genes.
Crop breeders have historically relied on quantitative genetic approaches
to understand the complex traits that are of interest to them.
Since the advent of molecular tools and abundant genetic markers,
scientists have developed sophisticated tools, such as QTL
and association mapping, to characterized the genetic architecture
of complex traits. This section introduces the
fundamental concepts of genetic, QTL, and Association mapping.
These lessons are preceded by a module
on measuring and interpreting marker variation in which the field of
molecular popular genetics is introduced.
The final group of modules introduce actual marker
applications, both in practice and in research or
pilot stage testing, in forest trees.
Module 14 discusses means by which markers, found to be in association
with economic or adaptive traits, may be incorporated in estimation
of breeding values and selection. The final two
modules address areas of research that are currently receiving a great deal of attention:
genomic selection, and landscape genomics.
Genomic selection is viewed as an alternative to association genetics,
particularly by livestock breeders, and is attracting
some attention by tree breeders.
Landscape genomics features association between genetic markers, or alleles,
and abiotic factors such as climate or soil rather than association
between markers and phenotypic traits.
It should be of great relevance to genetic resource managers who
must ultimately deal with genetic conservation and restoration activities in the
face of changing climates and loss of habitat.
So welcome to the CTGN course
on Genomics in Tree Breeding and Forest Ecosystem Management. We hope you find this material of interest.