Haplotype blocks for genomic prediction: a comparative evaluation in multiple crop datasets

In modern plant breeding, genomic selection is becoming the gold standard for selection of superior genotypes. The basis for genomic prediction models is a set of phenotyped lines along with their genotypic profile. With high marker density and linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers, genotype data in breeding populations tends to exhibit considerable redundancy. Therefore, interest is growing in the use of haplotype blocks to overcome redundancy by summarizing co-inherited features. Moreover, haplotype blocks can help to capture local epistasis caused by interacting loci. Here, we compared genomic prediction methods that either used single SNPs or haplotype blocks with regards to their prediction accuracy for important traits in crop datasets. We used four published datasets from canola, maize, wheat and soybean. Different approaches to construct haplotype blocks were compared, including blocks based on LD, physical distance, number of adjacent markers and the algorithms implemented in the software “Haploview” and “HaploBlocker”. The tested prediction methods included Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (GBLUP), Extended GBLUP to account for additive by additive epistasis (EGBLUP), Bayesian LASSO and Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) regression. We found improved prediction accuracy in some traits when using haplotype blocks compared to SNP-based predictions, however the magnitude of improvement was very trait- and model-specific. Especially in settings with low marker density, haplotype blocks can improve genomic prediction accuracy. In most cases, physically large haplotype blocks yielded a strong decrease in prediction accuracy. Especially when prediction accuracy varies greatly across different prediction models, prediction based on haplotype blocks can improve prediction accuracy of underperforming models. However, there is no “best” method to build haplotype blocks, since prediction accuracy varied considerably across methods and traits. Hence, criteria used to define haplotype blocks should not be viewed as fixed biological parameters, but rather as hyperparameters that need to be adjusted for every dataset

Optimising clonal performance in sugarcane: leveraging non-additive effects via mate-allocation strategies

Mate-allocation strategies in breeding programs can improve progeny performance by harnessing non-additive genetic effects. These approaches prioritise predicted progeny merit over parental breeding value, making them particularly appealing for clonally propagated crops such as sugarcane. We conducted a comparative analysis of mate-allocation strategies, exploring utilising non-additive and heterozygosity effects to maximise clonal performance with schemes that solely consider additive effects to optimise breeding value. Using phenotypic and genotypic data from a population of 2,909 clones evaluated in final assessment trials of Australian sugarcane breeding programs, we focused on three important traits: tonnes of cane per hectare (TCH), commercial cane sugar (CCS), and Fibre. By simulating families from all possible crosses (1,225) with 50 progenies each, we predicted the breeding and clonal values of progeny using two models: GBLUP (considering additive effects only) and extended-GBLUP (incorporating additive, non-additive, and heterozygosity effects). Integer linear programming was used to identify the optimal mate-allocation among selected parents. Compared to breeding value-based approaches, mate-allocation strategies based on clonal performance yielded substantial improvements, with predicted progeny values increasing by 57% for TCH, 12% for CCS, and 16% for fibre. Our simulation study highlights the effectiveness of mate-allocation approaches that exploit non-additive and heterozygosity effects, resulting in superior clonal performance. However, there was a notable decline in additive gain, particularly for TCH, likely due to significant epistatic effects. When selecting crosses based on clonal performance for TCH, the inbreeding coefficient of progeny was significantly lower compared to random mating, underscoring the advantages of leveraging non-additive and heterozygosity effects in mitigating inbreeding depression. Thus, mate-allocation strategies are recommended in clonally propagated crops to enhance clonal performance and reduce the negative impacts of inbreeding

A major root architecture QTL responding to water limitation in durum wheat

The optimal root system architecture (RSA) of a crop is context dependent and critical for efficient resource capture in the soil. Narrow root growth angle promoting deeper root growth is often associated with improved access to water and nutrients in deep soils during terminal drought. RSA, therefore is a drought-adaptive trait that could minimize yield losses in regions with limited rainfall. Here, GWAS for seminal root angle (SRA) identified seven marker-trait associations clustered on chromosome 6A, representing a major quantitative trait locus (qSRA-6A) which also displayed high levels of pairwise LD (r2 = 0.67). Subsequent haplotype analysis revealed significant differences between major groups. Candidate gene analysis revealed loci related to gravitropism, polar growth and hormonal signaling. No differences were observed for root biomass between lines carrying hap1 and hap2 for qSRA-6A, highlighting the opportunity to perform marker-assisted selection for the qSRA-6A locus and directly select for wide or narrow RSA, without influencing root biomass. Our study revealed that the genetic predisposition for deep rooting was best expressed under water-limitation, yet the root system displayed plasticity producing root growth in response to water availability in upper soil layers. We discuss the potential to deploy root architectural traits in cultivars to enhance yield stability in environments that experience limited rainfall

Mining the Vavilov wheat diversity panel for new sources of adult plant resistance to stripe rust

Multi-year evaluation of the Vavilov wheat diversity panel identified new sources of adult plant resistance to stripe rust. Genome-wide association studies revealed the key genomic regions influencing resistance, including seven novel loci

GWAS and co-expression network combination uncovers multigenes with close linkage effects on the oleic acid content accumulation in Brassica napus

Background: Strong artificial and natural selection causes the formation of highly conserved haplotypes that harbor agronomically important genes. GWAS combination with haplotype analysis has evolved as an effective method to dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits in crop species. Results: We used the 60 K Brassica Infinium SNP array to perform a genome-wide analysis of haplotype blocks associated with oleic acid (C18:1) in rapeseed. Six haplotype regions were identified as significantly associated with oleic acid (C18:1) that mapped to chromosomes A02, A07, A08, C01, C02, and C03. Additionally, whole-genome sequencing of 50 rapeseed accessions revealed three genes (BnmtACP2-A02, BnABCI13-A02 and BnECI1-A02) in the A02 chromosome haplotype region and two genes (BnFAD8-C02 and BnSDP1-C02) in the C02 chromosome haplotype region that were closely linked to oleic acid content phenotypic variation. Moreover, the co-expression network analysis uncovered candidate genes from these two different haplotype regions with potential regulatory interrelationships with oleic acid content accumulation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that several candidate genes are closely linked, which provides us with an opportunity to develop functional haplotype markers for the improvement of the oleic acid content in rapeseed

Q&A: modern crop breeding for future food security

Farmers around the world have recently experienced significant crop losses due to severe heat and drought. Such extreme weather events and the need to feed a rapidly growing population have raised concerns for global food security. While plant breeding has been very successful and has delivered today's highly productive crop varieties, the rate of genetic improvement must double to meet the projected future demands. Here we discuss basic principles and features of crop breeding and how modern technologies could efficiently be explored to boost crop improvement in the face of increasingly challenging production conditions

Designer roots for future crops

Despite the importance of roots, they have largely been ignored by modern crop research and breeding. We discuss important progress in crop root research and highlight how the context-dependent optimisation of below- and above-ground plant components provides opportunities to improve future crops in the face of increasing environmental fluctuations

Heterosis for biomass and grain yield facilitates breeding of productive dual-purpose winter barley hybrids

Winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) can be a valuable supplement as whole plant silage for bioenergy production due to positive effects of plant cover over winter and the possibility of growing a subsequent second crop after barley. However, to be competitive with other bioenergy crops, barley dry matter yield (DMY) needs to be enhanced. Therefore, we tested a factorial of 96 barley experimental hybrids together with their parental lines for DMY, grain yield (GY), and yield-associated traits in a multi-environmental field plot trial with a practical focus. The average best-parent heterosis (BPH) of GY was 7.7%, whereas average BPH of DMY was 9.1%. The higher GY of hybrids was mainly caused by the higher kernel number per ear. The variance of specific combining ability (SCA) was higher than that of general combining ability (GCA), revealing prevalence of non-additive effects on barley DMY. Additionally, SCA values highly correlated with those of DMY and GY (r = 0.752 and r = 0.839, respectively), as well as with values of mid-parent heterosis (MPH; r = 0.768 [DMY], r = 0.877 [GY]) and BPH (r = 0.695 [DMY], r = 0.768 [GY]). There was a correlation between the parental genetic distance and hybrid DMY, whereas no correlations were found between the parental per se and hybrid DMY and GY values. These results suggest that future hybrid breeding should be run in a separate program with a main focus on the establishment of heterotic pools and an increase in genetic diversity