Location: Dairy Forage Research
Project Number: 5090-12210-001-031-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
End Date: Aug 31, 2022
Objective:
The objectives of this project are to: 1. expand the alfalfa elite breeding pool genetic base by breeding germplasm out of material from the USDA National Plant Germplasm System collection; and 2. determine how unique and diverse selected material is compared to the U.S. elite alfalfa breeding pool for neutral genomic regions as well as putative agronomically important genomic regions.
Approach:
Four temperate-adapted populations will be created and evaluated from germplasm collected from Eastern Europe and Western Russia: Siberia and Mongolia; Central Asia: Turkey; and the Balkan Regions of Europe. Populations created through selection will be evaluated in temperate U.S. climates. Selected material will be released as publicly available germplasms. The four selected populations will be analyzed using DNA markers and compared to a collection of elite U.S. alfalfa cultivars. DNA markers will be derived from random loci across the alfalfa genome as well as from specific loci associated with improved agronomic performance. Genetic diversity comparisons between elite and selected material will be made based of both types of DNA markers.
