Design of Domestic Physical Instruments for Rapid (without Alternation of Generations) Genotype Identification during Selection in Segregating and Wild Plant Populations

Abstract

During the period from 1984 to 2014, our scientific school (consisting of 35 candidates and 12 doctors of science by 2018) developed a new theory of the ecological genetic organization of quantitative traits (TEGOQT). The theory is based on the discovery of a new epigenetic phenomenon, a change in the gene product profiles under a quantitative trait with the change of limiting environmental factor. A total of 24 important results and 10 techniques capable of eliminating the “bottlenecks” of traditional yield, increasing breeding technologies originated from the theory. TEGOQT gave rise to 16 innovative technologies for the construction of cutting-edge crop varieties characterized by high yield and product quality, which have been experimentally tested on many crops, and were tens and hundreds of times more effective than traditional yield increasing breeding technologies. This study describes the first among these 16 technologies, which is an important group of technologies for rapid (without alternation of generations) identification of the most productive genotypes during selection in segregating and wild populations. This group of technologies is based on the TEGOQT consequences, namely, the principle of background traits and the principle of “orthogonal” identification of maximum positive contributions to the yield of seven open genetic physiological systems (GPSs), including attraction; microdistribution of macronutrients between the spike grain and chaff; adaptability (drought, heat, frost, cold, salt tolerance, etc.); horizontal immunity; “paying” with dry plant biomass for low doses of soil nutrition (N, P, K); tolerance to phytocoenosis overcrowding; and genetic variability of the duration of ontogenetic stages.