Satellite Symposium 5: Molecular Breeding

Description

Drought stress is one of the most complex environmental constraints on turf. It is a major factor limiting the growth of cool-season turf grasses in a wide range of climatic regions. As water conservation becomes increasingly limiting, the development of drought tolerant lines becomes important. However, the progress in breeding turfgrass for drought resistance has been very slow, primarily because of the genetic complexity of drought stress responses and lack of screening procedures for rapid selection of germplasm with superior drought tolerance. Marker assisted selection (MAS) provides breeders with valuable tools to develop newer germplasm with improved drought tolerance (Quarrie et al., 1999). Drought tolerance involves a cascade of events and is controlled genetically by multiple genes. To clarify the genetic network involved, key agronomic traits need to be clarified into individual components to reduce complex analysis (Tollenaar and Wu, 1999). After specific components of the genes corresponding to drought tolerance are isolated and cloned, they can be converted into PCR-based markers to assist the selection and allow us to rapidly identify genetic lines that had the desired allele and discard those without.

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Development of Genetic Markers for Drought Tolerance in Festuca-Lolium Complexes

Drought stress is one of the most complex environmental constraints on turf. It is a major factor limiting the growth of cool-season turf grasses in a wide range of climatic regions. As water conservation becomes increasingly limiting, the development of drought tolerant lines becomes important. However, the progress in breeding turfgrass for drought resistance has been very slow, primarily because of the genetic complexity of drought stress responses and lack of screening procedures for rapid selection of germplasm with superior drought tolerance. Marker assisted selection (MAS) provides breeders with valuable tools to develop newer germplasm with improved drought tolerance (Quarrie et al., 1999). Drought tolerance involves a cascade of events and is controlled genetically by multiple genes. To clarify the genetic network involved, key agronomic traits need to be clarified into individual components to reduce complex analysis (Tollenaar and Wu, 1999). After specific components of the genes corresponding to drought tolerance are isolated and cloned, they can be converted into PCR-based markers to assist the selection and allow us to rapidly identify genetic lines that had the desired allele and discard those without.