Project: Commercial breeding gardens meet molecular genetics

The international plant genome research community have produced an overwhelming information density about favourable agronomic traits in wheat, barley and canola in the last decades. The routine selection and incorporation of traits, which were identified either by association genetic analysis or bi-parental mapping, is limited due to a high financial and labour input for establishing and conducting molecular breeding in parallel to classical breeding schemes in mid sized companies. The applicability of molecular markers in plant breeding programs can in principle be classified in (i) diagnostic marker-assisted selection (MAS), (ii) mapping-population specific markers, which could be used for incorporation of specific traits in elite germplasm by marker-assisted back crossing (MAB) and (iii) molecular markers for the use of DNA fingerprinting for calculating genetic distance (GD) in hybrid breeding programs and for monitoring variety identity and diversity. On the basis of these facts, COMMGENET is thematically structured as follows:_x000D_(i): Genetic characterization of 384 wheat, 384 spring barley and 384 canola lines from the pre-market breeding material from two subsequent breeding generations of BREUN, DIECKMANN and NOS will be genotyped with diagnostic markers, which are available in public databases. This class of markers were generated by either association genetic studies or gene cloning approaches in the past (details please see literature of pre-collected markers in Annex 3). Lines from MAS will be ready for variety registration procedure two years after the project starting date and varieties could therefore launch the seed market in several European countries. _x000D_(ii): For the development of innovative breeding material for each crop 20 back crosses (five different traits x four complementary recurrent parentes) for incorporation of new future important traits will be designed and performed in the green houses and laboratories of the participating SMEs. The still existing donor parents available at the SMEs site will be supplemented with genetic material from the public gene banks (IPK, Nordic Gene Bank, CIMMYT, ICARDA and National Plant Germplasm System). A two step MAB strategy will first lead to the BC1F1 generation (about 75 % genome recovery from the elite germplasm) from which double haploid plants (DHs) will be produced by anthere and microspore culture in the SMEs laboratories. The second MAB step will lead into the BC2F2 generations (about 87,5 % genome recovery from the elite germplasm) from which homozygous lines could be recovered with a final screen with the related codominant markers. BC2F3 progenies together with the BC1F1-derived DH plants will be tested in the field trials of the SMEs. The MAB approach of COMMGENET will finally end in commercial useable breeding material, which will be available for variety registration in 2015. The pre-collected markers for the MAB work are summarized in Annex 4. _x000D_(iii): Calculation of GD in canola, wheat and six rowed barley lines will be genotyped by the use of trait coupled Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers in combination with Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The data will be used for calculating GD for planning complementary crossings for enhancing heterosis in hybrid breeding programs._x000D_

Acronym	COMMGENET (Reference Number: 6085)
Duration	01/07/2011 - 31/12/2014
Project Topic	Advanced wheat, barley and canola breeding material of BREUN, DIECKMANN and NOS will be characterized in detail with important diagnostic linked molecular markers (MAS) and the material will be used for the development for new varieties with innovative traits by large scale MAB.
Project Results (after finalisation)	Strengthening of the molecular marker applications at Nordic Seed and helping establishing and optimizing new test protocols. Forming a good collaboration with other EU private breeding companies
Network	Eurostars
Call	Eurostars Cut-Off 5

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
4	Dieckmann Seeds GmbH & Co. KG	Observer	Germany
4	Monsanto Saaten GmbH	Partner	Germany
4	Nordic Seed	Partner	Denmark
4	Saatzucht Josef Breun GmbH & Co. KG	Coordinator	Germany