Author
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Cregan, Perry |
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Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: More than 75 years ago it was suggested that easily observable genetic traits could be used as a tool for the indirect selection of genetically controlled traits that were difficult or expensive to assess. Indirect selection of this type could speed the development of higher quality and more productive plant cultivars. DNA markers provide an inexpensive system of indirect selection. Because the basic building blocks of DNA are similar in most organisms, the technologies that are used for DNA analysis by human geneticists can be employed by animal and plant geneticists and breeders. Thus, the huge investment in the Human Genome Project and resulting technologies for DNA analysis can be directly applied to plant improvement. This article describes various DNA markers technologies and how they are applied by plant breeders and molecular biologists to discover and rapidly move genes in the process of plant improvement. This information will be useful to scientists who are not familiar with the details of DNA markers and their application to plant improvement and also to non-scientists with an interest in basic information relating to DNA marker technology. Technical Abstract: More than 75 years ago it was suggested that easily observable genetic traits could be used as a tool for the indirect selection of genetically controlled traits that were difficult to assess. For example, the form of a gene (allele) controlling leaf shape or seed coat color might be closely associated with the form of a gene (allele) that provided resistance to a pest. Thus, selection based upon leaf shape or seed coat color would allow indirect selection for pest resistance. This initial suggestion ultimately led to DNA marker based discovery and selection for genes controlling important crop quality traits, biotic and abiotic stress resistances, and crop productivity. Because the basic building blocks of DNA are similar in most organisms, the technologies that are used for DNA analysis can be employed by human, animal, and plant geneticists. Thus, the huge investment in the Human Genome Project and resulting technologies for DNA analysis can be directly applied to plant improvement. Plant geneticists have constructed genetic maps, employed these maps to discover the position of important genes, begun to determine the DNA sequence of plant genes, and are searching for differences in DNA sequence and function of naturally occurring genes. Plant geneticists are now initiating the application of high throughput genetic analysis technologies to incorporate this naturally occurring genetic variation into new higher quality and more productive plant varieties. |
