Location: Plant Science Research
Project Number: 6070-22000-019-026-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 17, 2025
End Date: Sep 16, 2027
Objective:
The overall goal of this agreement is to improve protocols that support the development of improved cultivars for US small grains growers. Objective 1 – Optimize use of interspecific hybridization for development of doubled haploid plants. Objective 2 –Develop improved genomic breeding approaches that integrate rapid generation advance. Objective 3 – Evaluate targeted gene mutations for haploid induction.
Approach:
Approach Obj 1: Improvements will be made to established protocols for production of doubled haploid plants. Cooperators will evaluate protocol efficiency, including the use of sterilizing agents and alternate production schedules. Cooperator will evaluate the use of alternative approaches for doubling chromosomes. Speed breeding approaches will also be used as a complimentary method to the doubled haploid approach.
Approach Obj 2: Resulting homozygous lines will be evaluated with DNA markers in the lab and screened in field experiments for important agronomic traits. Data will contribute to trait mapping as well as developing genomic prediction models and candidate line selection.
Approach Obj 3: Germplasm selected for mutations in genes thought to influence haploid production in other plant species will be evaluated for effect in small grains.