Genomic breeding approaches like genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS) are promising strategies for the genetic improvement of complex traits. GWAS are an effective alternative to linkage mapping as they involve no population development time and can utilize all the historical recombination events that have occurred in existing diversity populations. GWAS rely on the linkage disequilibrium between the causal polymorphisms and molecular markers to identify significant marker-trait associations that can be deployed in marker-assisted selection. Meanwhile, for improving quantitative traits that are controlled by several loci, GS has proved to be an effective selection tool as it allows selection based on the genomic-estimated breeding values obtained from genome-wide markers. GS has the potential to shorten the breeding cycle time by enabling selection of individuals prior to phenotyping, minimize phenotyping cost and resources and increase the selection accuracy, thereby leading to greater rates of genetic gain per unit time.
Globally, about 821 million people are under-nourished, including about 151 million stunted children under five years and about two billion people are micro-nutrient deficient. To meet the food and nutritional demands, food production has to be increased by 60% by 2050, amidst different abiotic and biotic stress challenges related to production systems posed by climate change. Though substantial improvement in crop production has been achieved post the “Green Revolution”, there is a need to accelerate genetic gain for key traits in plants and animals to meet the growing demand. In this regard, recent genomic advances including the availability of genome sequence information and genome-wide marker information have bolstered the identification of several trait-associated loci using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and provide fresh opportunities for genomic selection (GS) in plants and animals. Further research on GWAS and GS for extending our knowledge on the genetic architecture of key traits and the potential of selecting on the genomic-estimated breeding values are critical for accelerating plant and animal breeding to sustain agricultural production in the face of climate change.
We welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following subjects:
• GWAS in plants for traits related to abiotic or biotic stresses
• GWAS in animals for production and quality traits related to abiotic or biotic stresses
• Application of genomic selection in plant and animal breeding
• Evaluation of genomic prediction models for single or multiple traits
• New methods/tools/packages/models for GWAS and GS
Genomic breeding approaches like genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS) are promising strategies for the genetic improvement of complex traits. GWAS are an effective alternative to linkage mapping as they involve no population development time and can utilize all the historical recombination events that have occurred in existing diversity populations. GWAS rely on the linkage disequilibrium between the causal polymorphisms and molecular markers to identify significant marker-trait associations that can be deployed in marker-assisted selection. Meanwhile, for improving quantitative traits that are controlled by several loci, GS has proved to be an effective selection tool as it allows selection based on the genomic-estimated breeding values obtained from genome-wide markers. GS has the potential to shorten the breeding cycle time by enabling selection of individuals prior to phenotyping, minimize phenotyping cost and resources and increase the selection accuracy, thereby leading to greater rates of genetic gain per unit time.
Globally, about 821 million people are under-nourished, including about 151 million stunted children under five years and about two billion people are micro-nutrient deficient. To meet the food and nutritional demands, food production has to be increased by 60% by 2050, amidst different abiotic and biotic stress challenges related to production systems posed by climate change. Though substantial improvement in crop production has been achieved post the “Green Revolution”, there is a need to accelerate genetic gain for key traits in plants and animals to meet the growing demand. In this regard, recent genomic advances including the availability of genome sequence information and genome-wide marker information have bolstered the identification of several trait-associated loci using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and provide fresh opportunities for genomic selection (GS) in plants and animals. Further research on GWAS and GS for extending our knowledge on the genetic architecture of key traits and the potential of selecting on the genomic-estimated breeding values are critical for accelerating plant and animal breeding to sustain agricultural production in the face of climate change.
We welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following subjects:
• GWAS in plants for traits related to abiotic or biotic stresses
• GWAS in animals for production and quality traits related to abiotic or biotic stresses
• Application of genomic selection in plant and animal breeding
• Evaluation of genomic prediction models for single or multiple traits
• New methods/tools/packages/models for GWAS and GS
