Breeding Goal Research Articles

Gamma irradiation of eggplant seeds influences plant growth, yield and nutritional profile in M1 generation

The study examines agromorphological traits and nutrient compositions in three genotypes of eggplants (Solanum melongena ‘African Beauty F1’ and ‘Melina F1’ and S. aethiopicum ‘Kotobi’) grown from seeds irradiated by gamma rays (γ-ray) with 100 Gy. Experiments were carried out in the screenhouse and experimental field of Crop Science Department, University of Calabar, Nigeria. Completely randomised design with four replications and randomised complete block design with three replications was used in the screenhouse and field experiments respectively. Eggplant × γ-ray effect reduced (p ≤ 0.05) seedling emergence, plant height and number of leaves in the nursery at 2 and 4 weeks after sowing. In the field, these traits were consistently lower for irradiated Melina F1 and Kotobi (p > 0.05) at ten weeks after transplanting. Irradiated African Beauty F1 had the highest (p ≤ 0.05) upper canopy leaf area (429.54 cm2), higher (p > 0.05) plant height and stem width; lower (p > 0.05) number of branches and leaves. Un-irradiated and irradiated Kotobi had the highest (p ≤ 0.05) fruit load, lower (p ≤ 0.05) fruit volume, weight and yields over four harvest intervals. Carbohydrate and energy contents of Kotobi fruits grown from 100 Gy gamma-ray irradiated seeds were concurrently improved (p ≤ 0.05). Gamma ray irradiation had both positive and negative influences on the agromorphological traits, mineral composition and nutrient profile of eggplants. However, 100 Gy dose of irradiation had a negative effect on fruit characteristics in general. From the results of this study, inconsistent variations in the agromorphological traits of the irradiated eggplants of the three varieties were reported. Therefore, the goal of mutation breeding in eggplant should not undermine the importance of the eggplant genotype as well as the actual radiation dose.

The mRNA-lncRNA landscape of multiple tissues uncovers key regulators and molecular pathways that underlie heterosis for feed intake and efficiency in laying chickens

BackgroundHeterosis is routinely exploited to improve animal performance. However, heterosis and its underlying molecular mechanism for feed intake and efficiency have been rarely explored in chickens. Feed efficiency continues to be an important breeding goal trait since feed accounts for 60 to 70% of the total production costs in poultry. Here, we profiled the mRNA-lncRNA landscape of 96 samples of the hypothalamus, liver and duodenum mucosa from White Leghorn (WL), Beijing-You chicken (YY), and their reciprocal crosses (WY and YW) to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of heterosis.ResultsWe observed negative heterosis for both feed intake and residual feed intake (RFI) in YW during the laying period from 43 to 46 weeks of age. Analysis of the global expression pattern showed that non-additivity was a major component of the inheritance of gene expression in the three tissues for YW but not for WY. The YW-specific non-additively expressed genes (YWG) and lncRNA (YWL) dominated the total number of non-additively expressed genes and lncRNA in the hypothalamus and duodenum mucosa. Enrichment analysis of YWG showed that mitochondria components and oxidation phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathways were shared among the three tissues. The OXPHOS pathway was enriched by target genes for YWL with non-additive inheritance of expression in the liver and duodenum mucosa. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed divergent co-expression modules associated with feed intake and RFI in the three tissues from WL, YW, and YY. Among the negatively related modules, the OXPHOS pathway was enriched by hub genes in the three tissues, which supports the critical role of oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, protein quantification of ATP5I was highly consistent with ATP5I expression in the liver, which suggests that, in crossbred YW, non-additive gene expression is down-regulated and decreases ATP production through oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in negative heterosis for feed intake and efficiency.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that non-additively expressed genes and lncRNA involved in oxidative phosphorylation in the hypothalamus, liver, and duodenum mucosa are key regulators of the negative heterosis for feed intake and RFI in layer chickens. These findings should facilitate the rational choice of suitable parents for producing crossbred chickens.

BSA-Seq for the Identification of Major Genes for EPN in Rice.

Improving rice yield is one of the most important food issues internationally. It is an undeniable goal of rice breeding, and the effective panicle number (EPN) is a key factor determining rice yield. Increasing the EPN in rice is a major way to increase rice yield. Currently, the main quantitative trait locus (QTL) for EPN in rice is limited, and there is also limited research on the gene for EPN in rice. Therefore, the excavation and analysis of major genes related to EPN in rice is of great significance for molecular breeding and yield improvement. This study used japonica rice varieties Dongfu 114 and Longyang 11 to construct an F5 population consisting of 309 individual plants. Two extreme phenotypic pools were constructed by identifying the EPN of the population, and QTL-seq analysis was performed to obtain three main effective QTL intervals for EPN. This analysis also helped to screen out 34 candidate genes. Then, EPN time expression pattern analysis was performed on these 34 genes to screen out six candidate genes with higher expression levels. Using a 3K database to perform haplotype analysis on these six genes, we selected haplotypes with significant differences in EPN. Finally, five candidate genes related to EPN were obtained.

Optimization of breeding program design through stochastic simulation with kernel regression.

In recent years, breeding programs have increased significantly in size and complexity, with various highly interdependent parameters and many contrasting breeding goals. As a result, resource allocation in these programs has become more complex, and deriving an optimal breeding strategy has become increasingly challenging. To address this, a common practice is to reduce the optimization problem to a set of scenarios that differ only in a few parameters and can therefore be analyzed in detail. The goal of this article is to provide a framework for the numerical optimization of breeding programs that goes beyond the simple comparison of scenarios. For this, we first determine the space of potential breeding programs only limited by basic constraints like the budget and housing capacities. Subsequently, the goal is to identify the optimal breeding program by finding the parametrization that maximizes the target function by combining different breeding goals. To assess the value of the target function for a parametrization, we propose using stochastic simulations and the subsequent use of a kernel regression method to cope with the stochasticity of simulation outcomes. This procedure is performed iteratively to narrow down the most promising areas of the search space and perform more and more simulations in these areas of interest. In a simplified example applied to a dairy cattle program, our proposed framework has shown its ability to identify an optimal breeding strategy that aligns with a target function aiming at genetic gain and genetic diversity conservation limited by budget constraints.

Risk factors and genetic parameter estimates for preweaning survival of Fogera calves

This study utilised mortality records of 1 043 Fogera calves maintained at Andassa Livestock Research Center from 1984 to 2021 to investigate the factors that influence survival and estimate genetic parameters for the preweaning survival of Fogera calves. Survival was defined as the probability of surviving in a given length of time. Survival analysis was done using the Weibull proportional hazard model with Survival Kit version 6.1 software. Genetic variance and heritability estimates were estimated using the sire model. The proportion of right-censored calves up to 1, 4, and 8 months of age was 90.8, 87.8, and 83.5%, respectively. Around 55.8% of all deaths (16.5%) occurred up to one month of age. In addition to birth year, sex, season, and weight at birth were the most important risk factors for calf mortality. The heritability estimates for the survival of calves at 1, 4, and 8 months of age were 0.26 ± 0.14, 0.22 ± 0.13, and 0.38 ± 0.18, respectively. Moderate heritability was estimated at the age of eight months, implying that the inclusion of survival traits in the selection criteria and inclusion in the breeding goal will enhance the preweaning survival rate of calves. Similarly, higher differences in estimated breeding values of sires for survival suggest that the selection of sires with higher estimated breeding values could improve the survival potential of calves. The decreased genetic trend of 3.34% year−1 for the survival potential of Fogera calves during the study periods suggested that survival traits should be included in the breeding goal to reduce the mortality rate.

Improved compact growth habit of Viola × wittrockiana through Rhizobium rhizogenes transformation

Compactness is an important breeding goal in the improvement of garden pansy varieties (Viola × wittrockiana Gams.). The desired compact stature is primarily obtained through the use of chemical growth retardants. Recently, an alternative strategy for creating compact ornamentals was proposed based on transformation by wild type rhizogenic agrobacteria and the regeneration of transformed hairy roots. Here, we report on the successful transformation and creation of compact garden pansy lines. The most efficient hairy root induction was obtained by Rhizobium rhizogenes strain ATCC15834. Shoot regeneration from hairy roots was obtained using 3 mg L−1 2iP and 0.3 mg L−1 2,4-D. The presence of R. rhizogenes T-DNA genes was confirmed in the regenerated lines. These lines displayed a varying degrees of dwarfed growth. Most notably the shoot length was reduced up to 49%. Other phenotypic traits that were induced include reduced peduncle length and smaller, wrinkled flowers. Several of these Ri lines with promising compactness have been selected for further breeding towards compact garden pansy varieties that are less dependent on chemical growth regulation.Graphical abstract

Dissecting the genetic basis of drought responses in common bean using natural variation.

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) is the most important legume for human consumption, contributing 30% of the total daily protein intake in developing countries. A major limitation for its cultivation is drought, which causes more than 60% of the annual losses. Among physiological adaptations to drought, delaying senescence and extending the photosynthetic capacity can improve crop productivity. This strategy is known as functional "stay-green" (SG) and has been discussed as a goal in plant breeding to alleviate the loss of yield under water scarcity conditions. The genetic components behind SG traits have been explored specially in cereals, but they are to date poorly studied in the common bean. For this, we screened 71 common bean cultivars belonging to the three most important gene-pools, Mesoamerica, Andes and Europe, selected to cover the natural variation of the species. Phenotyping experiments under terminal drought during long-days in greenhouse conditions, identified six photoperiod insensitive cultivars of European origin with a clear SG phenotype. Using SNP data produced from whole genome re-sequencing data, we obtained 10 variants significantly associated to the SG phenotype on chromosomes 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10 that are in close proximity to gene models with functional annotations related to hormone signaling and anti-oxidant production. Calculating pairwise FST between subgroups of cultivars divided according to their drought response (susceptibility, escape, recovery or SG), we identified up to 29 genomic windows accounting for 1,45Mb that differentiate SG cultivars; these signals were especially strong on chromosomes 1, 5 and 10. Within these windows, we found genes directly involved in photosynthetic processes and trehalose synthesis. Altogether, these signals represent good targets for further characterization and highlight the multigenic nature of the SG response in legumes.

Carbon footprint based on lifetime productivity for future cows selected for resilience to climate-related disturbances

Droughts, which can impact feed production, are projected to become more common under future climate conditions. In light of this, breeding cattle resilient to changes in feeding regimens is increasingly becoming an important topic. Body reserves can play a crucial role when the feed resources are limited. We simulated populations of dairy cows selected with 2 different breeding goals: one reflecting the current breeding goal and the other placing weight on minimum level of body reserves in early lactation and change in body reserves during lactation. We considered this latter as a breeding goal for resilience. We used the 2 dynamic simulation programs ADAM and AQAL to predict performance of the cows after selection. In AQAL, we modeled moderate and severe drought by decreasing feed quality and quantity offered to cows during one year. We compared cows selected with the 2 breeding goals under 3 environments: without disturbances related to climate and with moderate and severe drought. In the environments without disturbances and the moderate drought, the cows selected with the current breeding goal had higher life time lactation efficiency (energy invested in milk / energy acquired from feed) and lower carbon footprint per kg protein in milk and meat than cows selected for resilience. However, with severe drought, cows selected for resilience had higher life time lactation efficiency and lower carbon footprint per kg protein in milk and meat than those selected with the current breeding goal. This suggests that cows selected for high productive performance do not perform well under very limiting conditions, leading to increased climate impact. The importance of inclusion of body reserves as a resilience trait in dairy cattle breeding depends on the future environment in which the cows will be used.

Farmers' preferences for breeding goal traits and selection indexes for Slovenian dairy cattle

The aim of the study was to determine the role played by farmers' sociodemographic factors in the characteristics of dairy farmers' breeding goals and how they are clustered in Slovenia. Understanding how farmers formulate their breeding objectives is crucial because their perspectives may diverge from those of the stakeholders engaged in selection and breeding. Involving farmers in the process of setting breeding goals can improve the use of selection tools and confidence in the selection process. For a more complete picture of how farmers view breeding work, their expectations, and the changes they would prefer to see in the future in terms of new traits and a total merit index, a mixed methods approach was used. Initially, 3 focus groups with 30 participants were conducted on the following main topics: farmers' needs and attitudes regarding genomic selection, the main barriers and advantages to adopting genomic selection, the design of a total merit index, and preferences for breeding goals. To generalize the results to the whole population, an additional online questionnaire was sent to dairy farmers affiliated with Slovenian breeding associations, with 212 farmers responding. Based on how the farmers distributed weights across the trait categories in the total merit index, a cluster analysis identifies 3 distinct groups of farmers. Milk production proved to be an important common factor for all farmers, especially production-focused ones. Functionality-focused farmers expressed the strongest preference for fertility (22%), longevity (18%), and animal health (18%), whereas resilience-focused farmers concentrated on fertility (13%), health (13%), longevity (11%), and workability (11%). Yet, the results also showed that dairy farmers hold quite similar preferences for breeding goal traits, with animal health and welfare, reproductive traits, dominating across the sample and environmental and meat traits being the least important. The quantitative analysis of the preference for new environmental traits showed that farmers express less importance to them due to pressure and negative public opinion about the environmental impact of dairy farming. The focus group participants, although acknowledging that adaptation to climate change and heat stress will be essential, were even more negative about traits related to greenhouse gas emissions, which can be attributed to negative public opinion and constraints on agricultural activity.

Genetic associations of ewe body condition score and lamb rearing performance in extensively managed meat sheep

Many small ruminant production systems are relatively low input and rely heavily on animals grazing pastures often in extensive and harsh environmental conditions, unsuitable for any other type of agriculture. New breeding goal traits for lifetime resilience for maternal sheep breeding programmes have been investigated, focusing on body tissue mobilisation phenotypes and their genetic relationships with maternal production traits. Performance records of 8,355 Scottish Blackface ewes, from 2 extensively reared hill sheep flocks, collected over a 20-year period, were used to quantify relationships between body condition score (BCS) and the ewe's ability to successfully rear lambs. Between 14,000 and 25,000 data records per trait were available, measured across the annual sheep reproductive cycle. The pedigree file used for the analyses included sire and dam information for 50,207 animals. Most heritability estimates for the BCS traits - measured at key time points within the annual production cycle, or considering BCS changes between time points - were low, but significantly different from zero, ranging between 0.07 and 0.17. The heritability estimate for the number of lambs at pregnancy scanning was 0.09. Heritabilities for foetal loss from pregnancy scanning to lambing, lamb loss from lambing to weaning and number of lambs weaned were 0.02, 0.02 and 0.06, respectively. These estimates indicate that genetic control over the reproductive and lamb survival traits (expressed as a trait of the dam), is lower than that for BCS (and BCS changes) over the reproductive cycle. The genetic relationships amongst the BCS of ewes at pre-mating, pregnancy scan and at pre-lambing, with litter size at pregnancy scan and number of lambs weaned, were consistent. They indicate that ewes of higher body condition score (potentially over-fat, within the range recorded in these flocks) conceive, and rear, fewer lambs, with genetic correlations ranging between -0.18 and -0.58. However, post-weaning, animals with genetic propensity for greater gain in BCS from weaning to pre-mating produce larger litters and rear more lambs. In addition, the selection of ewes that lose less condition during pregnancy will reduce foetal losses. The results from this study paint a complex picture that should be interpreted in the context of specific management practices for extensively managed hill sheep, at critical times in their reproductive cycle. The traits relating to body tissue mobilisation, as assessed using BCS, are mostly heritable and their inclusion in future breeding programmes, to aid future selection for resilience, should be considered.

From genes to policy: mission-oriented governance of plant-breeding research and technologies.

Mission-oriented governance of research focuses on inspirational, yet attainable goals and targets the sustainable development goals through innovation pathways. We disentangle its implications for plant breeding research and thus impacting the sustainability transformation of agricultural systems, as it requires improved crop varieties and management practices. Speedy success in plant breeding is vital to lower the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, increase crop resilience to climate stresses and reduce postharvest losses. A key question is how this success may come about? So far plant breeding research has ignored wider social systems feedbacks, but governance also failed to deliver a set of systemic breeding goals providing directionality and organization to research policy of the same. To address these challenges, we propose a heuristic illustrating the core elements needed for governing plant breeding research: Genetics, Environment, Management and Social system (GxExMxS) are the core elements for defining directions for future breeding. We illustrate this based on historic cases in context of current developments in plant phenotyping technologies and derive implications for governing research infrastructures and breeding programs. As part of mission-oriented governance we deem long-term investments into human resources and experimental set-ups for agricultural systems necessary to ensure a symbiotic relationship for private and public breeding actors and recommend fostering collaboration between social and natural sciences for working towards transdisciplinary collaboration.

Multi-Omics Reveals the Effect of Crossbreeding on Some Precursors of Flavor and Nutritional Quality of Pork.

Over the last several decades, China has continuously introduced Duroc boars and used them as breeding boars. Although this crossbreeding method has increased pork production, it has affected pork quality. Nowadays, one of the primary goals of industrial breeding and production systems is to enhance the quality of meat. This research analyzed the molecular mechanisms that control the quality of pork and may be used as a guide for future efforts to enhance meat quality. The genetic mechanisms of cross-breeding for meat quality improvement were investigated by combining transcriptome and metabolome analysis, using Chinese native Jiaxing black (JXB) pigs and crossbred Duroc × Duroc × Berkshire × JXB (DDBJ) pigs. In the longissimus Dorsi muscle, the content of inosine monophosphate, polyunsaturated fatty acid, and amino acids were considerably higher in JXB pigs in contrast with that of DDBJ pigs, whereas DDBJ pigs have remarkably greater levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids than JXB pigs. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differential metabolites were identified using transcriptomic and metabolomic KEGG enrichment analyses. Differential metabolites mainly include amino acids, fatty acids, and phospholipids. In addition, several DEGs that may explain differences in meat quality between the two pig types were found, including genes associated with the metabolism of lipids (e.g., DGKA, LIPG, and LPINI), fatty acid (e.g., ELOVL5, ELOVL4, and ACAT2), and amino acid (e.g., SLC7A2, SLC7A4). Combined with the DEGS-enriched signaling pathways, the regulatory mechanisms related to amino acids, fatty acids, and phospholipids were mapped. The abundant metabolic pathways and DEGs may provide insight into the specific molecular mechanism that regulates meat quality. Optimizing the composition of fatty acids, phospholipids, amino acids, and other compounds in pork is conducive to improving meat quality. Overall, these findings will provide useful information and further groundwork for enhancing the meat quality that may be achieved via hybrid breeding.

Estimation of the genetic parameters for temperament in Haflinger horses based on the results of a character test using a pedigree-based relationship matrix

Literature provides indications that the personality and temperament of a horse are sufficiently genetically determined. This background was the impetus to continue collecting phenotypic information on the temperament in the South Tyrolean Haflinger horses, not only to have marketing tools but also to be able to estimate genetic parameters for a future genetic evaluation. The latter should open the possibility to include temperament traits in the breeding goal. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to consider for the very first-time phenotypic information from character testing for estimating genetic parameters for temperament in Haflinger horses. For the present study, data from routine character testing of 210 South Tyrolean Haflinger mares between 2019 and 2021 were considered. A multivariate estimation of heritability (h2) and genetic correlations (r) was carried out for the criteria ‘Interest’, ‘Activity’ and ‘Excitement’. In addition, univariate and bivariate estimation runs were also carried out. The pedigree-based heritability for the behavioural trait Interest was lowest with 0.07 and a standard error of ±0.04. For the other two criteria, Activity and Excitement, h2 was 0.19 ± 0.05 and 0.21 ± 0.04, respectively. The genetic correlation between Interest and Activity and between Interest and Excitement was in both cases negative with −0.52 and −0.61, respectively while the genetic correlation between Excitement and Activity was positive (0.99). Results of the present study highlight the potential of considering temperament traits in breeding of Haflinger horses.

Genomic prediction of seed nutritional traits in biparental families of oat (Avena sativa).

Selection for more nutritious crop plants is an important goal of plant breeding to improve food quality and contribute to human health outcomes. While there are efforts to integrate genomic prediction to accelerate breeding progress, an ongoing challenge is identifying strategies to improve accuracy when predicting within biparental populations in breeding programs. We tested multiple genomic prediction methods for 12 seed fatty acid content traits in oat (Avena sativa L.), as unsaturated fatty acids are a key nutritional trait in oat. Using two well-characterized oat germplasm panels and other biparental families as training populations, we predicted family mean and individual values within families. Genomic prediction of family mean exceeded a mean accuracy of 0.40 and 0.80 using an unrelated and related germplasm panel, respectively, where the related germplasm panel outperformed prediction based on phenotypic means (0.54). Within family prediction accuracy was more variable: training on the related germplasm had higher accuracy than the unrelated panel (0.14-0.16 and 0.05-0.07, respectively), but variability between families was not easily predicted by parent relatedness, segregation of a locus detected by a genome-wide association study in the panel, or other characteristics. When using other families as training populations, prediction accuracies were comparable to the related germplasm panel (0.11-0.23), and families that had half-sib families in the training set had higher prediction accuracy than those that did not. Overall, this work provides an example of genomic prediction of family means and within biparental families for an important nutritional trait and suggests that using related germplasm panels as training populations can be effective.

Selection of Suitable Genotypes Based on Physiological and Morphological Traits in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

Aims: Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) as one of the most important oilseeds in the world, has a special role in cultivation and plant breeding research. Especially, the properties of rapeseed oil compounds, which have high oleic acid, antioxidant and positive effects on cholesterol, blood sugar control, blood pressure and cancer, make it one of the healthiest and most important edible oils in the world and an alternative to use Other vegetable oils have been introduced in recent years. Evaluation of different genotypes of Rapeseed in terms of different traits and selection of the most appropriate genotypes can be effective in realizing the goals of plant breeding.
 Study Design: In order to conduct the experiment, a randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used in three replications.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Varamin region of Iran in 2019-2020.
 Methodology: Each experimental plot had 4 rows of cultivation at a distance of 50 cm. The seeds were planted at a distance of 10 cm from each other and all steps such as watering and weeding were done regularly and manually.
 Results: The results of analysis of variance at the level of 0.01 indicated that the evaluated genotypes have significant differences in terms of all traits except the number of grains in the pod. In the means comparison of the traits, grain yield and oil percentage traits, which were selected as the most important traits, the Licord genotype was selected as the most favorable genotype. Based on the correlation analysis between the traits, the trait of grain yield had a positive and significant correlation with the traits of thousand grain weight, number of pods in the main stem, pod weight, days to flowering and oil percentage. Based on analysis of the main components, the first five components accounted for more than 74% of the variance of the total data. The drawn polygon diagram also identified Licord, Hyola-401, SLM046, Modena and Option 500 genotypes as desirable genotypes.
 Conclusion: Non-invasive independent predictors for screening esophageal varices may decrease medical as well as financial burden, hence improving the management of cirrhotic patients. These predictors, however, need further work to validate reliability.

Molecular Regulation of Differential Lipid Molecule Accumulation in the Intramuscular Fat and Abdominal Fat of Chickens.

Reducing abdominal fat (AF) accumulation and increasing the level of intramuscular fat (IMF) simultaneously is a major breeding goal in the poultry industry. To explore the different molecular mechanisms underlying AF and IMF, gene expression profiles in the breast muscle (BM) and AF from three chicken breeds were analyzed. A total of 4737 shared DEGs were identified between BM and AF, of which 2602 DEGs were upregulated and 2135 DEGs were downregulated in the BM groups compared with the AF groups. DEGs involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism were potential regulators, resulting in the difference in lipid metabolite accumulation between IMF and AF. The PPAR signaling pathway was the most important pathway involved in tissue-specific lipid deposition. Correlation analysis showed that most representative DEGs enriched in the PPAR signaling pathway, such as FABP5, PPARG, ACOX1, and GK2, were negatively correlated with PUFA-enriched glycerophospholipid molecules. Most DEGs related to glycerophospholipid metabolism, such as GPD2, GPD1, PEMT, CRLS1, and GBGT1, were positively correlated with glycerophospholipid molecules, especially DHA- and arachidonic acid (ARA)-containing glycerophospholipid molecules. This study elucidated the molecular mechanism underlying tissue-specific lipid deposition and poultry meat quality.

GENETYCZNE ASPEKTY SYNTEZY LAKTOZY U BYDŁA MLECZNEGO

Market requirements, dictated by the growing needs of consumers, make it necessary to conduct breeding works to improve the performance characteristics of farm animals. The effectiveness of the breeding goal depends on both the genotype of the animals and the environmental conditions. Genomic selection using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is increasingly used in the selection and evaluation of dairy cattle breeds. In recent years, many experiments have been carried out to determine the relationship between the occurrence of the genotype and performance traits of livestock. The analysis of milk composition carried out so far focused mainly on such milk production traits as milk yield (kg), fat yield (kg), fat content (%), protein yield (kg) and protein content (%). So far, no largescale experiments have been carried out to test the content of lactose in milk and evaluate possible relationships with other milk performance traits. Lactose synthesis in the epithelial cells of the mammary gland serves as a major factor influencing milk volume production. Due to that conducting such an analysis seems to be beneficial for milk producers for economic reasons. An additional advantage may be the use of the obtained results in marker-assisted selection (MAS). The present review summarizes knowledge about lactose synthesis by covering and linking several aspects of cow’s milk.

Agro-morphological Characterization of Proso millet Germplasm for Utilization

Aims: In this study, 634 accessions of proso millet were evaluated to assess phenotypic diversity using morpho-agronomic traits, aiming to identify specific donors for desired traits.
 Study Design: Augmented design.
 Place and Duration of Study: During the Kharif season of 2021, a total of 634 proso millet germplasm accessions were characterized, alongside three control varieties, as part of the Institute Project (IIMR/CI/2021-2026/150) at ICAR-IIMR in Hyderabad.
 Methodology: The experimental design employed was an augmented block design, and four check varieties, namely GPUP 8, TNAU 145, TNAU 164, and TNAU 202, were included.
 Results: The results revealed significant variation across all the traits studied. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated that the first three principal components accounted for 60% of the total variation. PC1 accounted for 27.3% of the variation, followed by PC2 (22.6%) and PC3 (10%). PC1 was primarily influenced by Leaf blade length (cm), Peduncle length (cm), Panicle length (cm), Plant height (cm), and grain yield (g plant-1). Furthermore, the study identified 21 accessions with superior performance in multiple traits (3-6 traits).
 Conclusion: These accessions can serve as valuable genetic resources for improving yield and quality traits. The selected multi-trait donors can be directly released for cultivation, serving as a short-term breeding goal. This approach has the potential to enable farmers to achieve high remuneration by harvesting increased yields.

Policies to promote breeding for lice-resistant salmon: Incentives designed for resilient and sustainable growth in aquaculture.

Sea lice represent a persistent and growing problem, challenging the resilience and growth of the salmon aquaculture industry. In this Norwegian case study, we studied and discuss how the absence of policy instruments directed at stimulating breeding for lice resistance (LR) might be explained. We found well-documented opportunities for selection progress for LR. Hence, breeding on LR appears with an untapped potential. We discuss how market-based, legal, institutional and interest-based factors can explain the absence of policy instruments stimulating LR breeding. Methodologically, we obtained data from document and literature studies and interviews with key players (salmon breeders, farmers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental bodies in Norway). First, LR is a polygenic trait, which makes it poorly suited for patenting. Furthermore, if only a small proportion of fish farmers choose seeds with higher LR, other operators can easily take on the free-rider role because they will not suffer from reduced gain in growth performance as a result of a much stronger emphasis on LR in the breeding goal. The market is thus not expected to stimulate stronger selection for LR in Norwegian salmon breeding. Second, neither genetic engineering (e.g., gene editing), still struggling with consumer acceptance, nor the uncertainty associated with possible changes in the Norwegian Gene Technology Act stimulate investment in LR via, for example, CRISPR technology. Thirdly, public policy instruments in their entirety have targeted other types of innovations against salmon lice, and none have so far been used to stimulate breeding companies to emphasize LR more strongly in their breeding programmes. From a political point of view, it seems that breeding has been left to the market and the private sector. However, neither the NGOs nor the public seem to be aware of, or pay significant attention to, the breeding potential to improve LR and fish welfare. Fragmented management of the aquaculture sector can camouflage the close ties between political and business interests. The industry is hesitant to invest significantly in long-term breeding targets such as significantly higher genetic LR. This may strengthen the assumption that strong economic interests will reduce the role of science in knowledge-based management. As farmed salmon are increasingly being exposed to stressful delousing treatments, mortality and associated welfare problems have increased significantly. For instance, large fish die more often from cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS), resulting in growing demand for CMS-resistant salmon. This gives rise to a paradoxical situation: increasing treatments with high mortality and fish welfare issues in farmed salmon, while the lice threat to wild salmon persists.

A stable quantitative trait locus on chromosome A10 improves the oil content of a backbone parent in Brassica napus L.

One of the most important breeding goals for rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is improving the oil content (OC) to increase edible or industrial oil quality. Using backbone parents as research materials to excavate OC genetic loci is not only helpful in enhancing the understanding of the genetic basis of OC in rapeseed but also offers a promising approach to improve backbone parents. In this study, a doubled haploid population constructed using the backbone parent 19514 A (with low OC) and the inbred line ZY50 (with high OC) were investigated in eight environments. A total of 30 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, among which qOC.A10 was detected in six environments. Local QTL scanning for the BC4F2 population showed that qOC.A10 accounted for 22.77% of the phenotypic variance and 0.97% of the additive effect. Further, we improved the parent 19514 A on qOC.A10 by marker-assisted selection, and the background response rate of the improved line A10–19514A reached 97.5%. The phenotypic identification results showed that the OC of A10–19514A and its hybrid significantly increased compared with that of the control, with no negative effects on other agronomic traits. Transcriptome analysis and sequence difference analysis facilitated the prediction of potential functional genes of qOC.A10. This study increases the knowledge regarding the genetic foundation of OC in rapeseed. Furthermore, it identified and confirmed a stable QTL that can be detected in various studies and possesses practical breeding significance.