Generation and Evaluation of Modified opaque-2 (o2) Popcorn Suggests a Route to Quality Protein Popcorn (QPP)

Authors

Ying Ren, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

David R. Holding

Date of this Version

12-2018

Citation

Ren, Ying,"Generation and Evaluation of Modified opaque-2 (o2) Popcorn Suggests a Route to Quality Protein Popcorn (QPP)" (2018). Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research in Agronomy and Horticulture.

Comments

The results presented in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 were accepted for publication in Frontiers in Plant Science-Plant Breeding. (Y. Ren, A. Yobi, L. Marshall, R. Angelovici, O. Rodriguez and D. R. Holding, “Generation and evaluation of modified opaque-2 popcorn suggests a route to Quality Protein Popcorn,” (accepted for publication in Frontiers in Plant Science-Plant Breeding, Nov 20^th, 2018).)

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Agronomy and Horticulture (Plant Breeding and Genetics), Under the Supervision of Professor David R. Holding. Lincoln, Nebraska: December, 2018

Copyright (c) 2018 Ying Ren

Abstract

I have been working on a Quality Protein Popcorn breeding project where QPM conversion is carried out simultaneously for several elite popcorn germplasms. During my study in the graduate program, I led the following aspects of the Quality Protein Popcorn Breeding Project:

1. Identified suitable QPMs as opaque-2 allele donors.

2.Examined the feasibility of quick introgression of the opaque-2 allele into popcorn lines via marker-assisted selection.

3. Monitored modification by SDS-PAGE zein profiling and light box phenotypic selection to make sure multiple modifier loci for opaque-2 were incorporated each time generation advancement was carried out.

4. Carried out high throughput DNA extraction using the BioSprint Workstation and performed genotyping to guide field selection.

5. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of amino acid profiles from UPLC (Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography) of candidate QPP lines along with corresponding parental lines (QPM and popcorn). (in collaboration with Dr. Ruthie Angelovici from University of Missouri Columbia, MO)

Advisor: David R. Holding