Agronomy and Horticulture, Department of

 

Marker-Assisted Selection

Document Type

Learning Object

Date of this Version

2005

Citation

Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary (PASSeL) Lesson

Comments

Copyright © 2005 Patrick Byrne and Kelley Richardson. Used by permission.

JNRLSE approved 2005

This project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants CAP project 2011-68002-30029 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, administered by the University of California-Davis and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education, National SMETE Digital Library Program, Award #0938034, administered by the University of Nebraska. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or NSF.

Development of this lesson was supported in part by USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) and the Cooperative State Research, Education, & Extension Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture under Agreement Number 00-52100-9710. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Abstract

A method of selecting desirable individuals in a breeding scheme based on DNA molecular marker patterns instead of, or in addition to, their trait values. A tool that can help plant breeders select more efficiently for desirable crop traits.

Objectives and Overview

Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is a method of selecting desirable individuals in a breeding scheme based on DNA molecular marker patterns instead of, or in addition to, their trait values. When used in appropriate situations, it is a tool that can help plant breeders select more efficiently for desirable crop traits. However, MAS is not always advantageous, so careful analysis of the costs and benefits relative to conventional breeding methods is necessary.

Upon completing this lesson you should be able to:

  • Explain the basic concepts of MAS.
  • List the prerequisites for implementing a MAS program.
  • Explain the potential advantages and drawbacks of MAS.
  • Describe how MAS is used to select for a major gene in a backcross conversion program.
  • Describe how MAS is used to select multiple genes controlling a quantitative trait.

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