2008 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Objective 1. Association mapping of b-glucan content and structure in elite oat germplasm and replicated comparison of phenotypic with marker-assisted selection. Objective 2. Association mapping of b-glucan content from the National Plant Germplasm System: complementation of elite oat. Objective 3. Educational initiatives to pipeline students into plant breeding and to educate professionals. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Objective 1. We will apply association analysis to a population of elite oat lines tested in the USDA UOPN since 1996. The b-glucan content of lines is known. We will genotype lines using DArT markers. We will apply both mixed-model association analysis controlling for kinship using pedigree information and whole genome analysis. Results will feed into two cycles of MAS using both analyses. Conversion of UOPN data files on GrainGenes to a relational database that will also hold genotypic data will provide informatic support and a future resource for the oat community. Objective 2. The GRIN system contains b-glucan content observations on 5382 oat accessions. We will pick 250 lines from each tail of the distribution to genotype. Objective 2 will either confirm loci identified in Objective 1, or to identify new loci. For loci mapped in Objectives 2 but not 1, we will determine whether the elite population carries the allele conferring higher b-glucan content as shown by analysis of the NPGS population. Objective 3. We will develop an interactive distance short course entitled “Association analysis and its application to plant breeding.” The course syllabus and content will emerge from the research proposed here and from the Barley CAP. The target audience will be plant breeding professionals and upper-level graduate students in plant breeding nationwide. Two educational activities will help draw new students to plant breeding. First, a one-hour presentation oriented toward high-school students will be used at recruitment venues organized by ISU. Second, a week-long teaching module on biotechnology and computational biology in plant breeding will be introduced into two lower-level Agronomy courses and one upper-level Food Science course. 3.Progress Report Work performed at ISU has been as follows: two graduate students have been hired. One is working with germplasm from the Uniform Oat Performance Nursery (UOPN) and the other with germplasm from the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). All grow-outs and harvesting for seed and DNA extraction have been performed at ISU. Monitoring of this activity has been accomplished by regular telephone contact with researchers at Iowa State University. This progress addresses NP 301 Action Plan Component 3, Statement A.