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Winter
2017
grainswest.com7
BY SARAH HOFFMANN
THE
FARMGATE
A NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAM
allows Alberta scientists to use fragments
of the barley genome—known as DNA
markers—to improve and accelerate bar-
ley variety development. A genome is the
complete set of genetic material present in
a cell or organism.
Rong-Cai Yang, a biostatistician
cross-appointed at Alberta Agriculture
and Forestry and the University of Al-
berta, built the Barley Breeding Platform
(BBP). This Excel-based software program
combines phenotypic information (observ-
able characteristics of a variety, such as
yield, disease resistance and height) with
genotypic information (the genetic deter-
minant of these observable traits).
Traditionally, plant breeders selected
and crossed varieties that had desirable
phenotypic traits. Several generations of
selecting the best lines would lead to a va-
riety that displayed consistent qualities in
the field. With the mapping of the barley
genome, however, molecular biologists
and plant breeders can now see which
DNA markers in the genome influence
certain plant traits.
Yang brought the phenomic and genom-
ic data together into a database that can
filter through the information and find
the most promising barley lines to grow in
test plots.
Yang said that instead of growing all
potential barley lines in the field, this
database allows breeders to focus on
growing the lines that have certain re-
quired genetic markers for traits like yield,
disease resistance or malting quality. With
access to the marker information, breed-
ers do not have to wait until the end of
the growing season to select for lines with
better yield and quality.
“If we can develop a reliable DNA
marker panel, you can make a reliable se-
lection earlier. This shortens the breeding
cycle,” said Yang. Currently, it takes about
12 years to bring a new barley variety to
market. Yang is hesitant to provide a con-
crete estimate, but suggested three to four
years could be shaved o this process once
breeders can fully utilize the software for
marker-aided selection in their breeding
programs.
Flavio Capettini is one of the barley
breeders based at the Field Crop Develop-
ment Centre (FCDC) in Lacombe where
the BBP launches this spring. As head of
research at the FCDC, he knows that time
saved equals money saved.
As he pointed out, genomics research
began in the 1980s, but the testing was too
expensive to integrate into plant breeding.
Like most technology, genomics became
more a ordable over time. “It’s been a long
evolution until now, where, for evaluating
many traits, it becomes less expensive to
use the lab than the field,” said Capettini.
In the lab at the FCDC, molecular
biologist Jennifer Zantinge is applying
new technologies to speed up and reduce
the cost of genetic screening by analyzing
several barley lines with multiple genetic
markers simultaneously. In the past, biolo-
gists analyzed one piece of DNA with one
genetic marker at a time.
Zantinge said genetic markers reveal
layers of detail beneath the characteristics
observed in the field. For example, not all
varieties that appear resistant to a certain
disease are created equal. “The problem
with doing phenotyping in the field is we
don’t know where the resistance for that
disease is coming from,” she said.
A variety with multiple resistant genes
has a more durable resistance, meaning it
will likely take more generations for the
resistance to break down than in a variety
with only one type of resistant gene. “We’re
trying to pyramid a number of resistance
genes into one line,” said Zantinge.
The BBP was funded in part through
the provincial-federal initiative
Growing
Forward 2
. After further development
and integration of the platform into the
barley breeding program at the FCDC, the
team said there will be opportunities for
cross-application with other crops.
WHAT’S INAGENOME?
FOR PLANT BREEDERS, THEANSWER
IS “PLENTYOF REVEALINGDATA”
Photo:LacombeFieldCropDevelopmentCentre
Research technologist Shiming Xue at the Lacombe Field Crop Development Centre, where the Barley Breeding
Platformwill launch this spring.