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Review
. 2008 Feb 12;363(1491):557-72.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2170.

Marker-assisted selection: an approach for precision plant breeding in the twenty-first century

Bertrand C Y Collard  1 , David J Mackill
Affiliations
Review

Marker-assisted selection: an approach for precision plant breeding in the twenty-first century

Bertrand C Y Collard et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

DNA markers have enormous potential to improve the efficiency and precision of conventional plant breeding via marker-assisted selection (MAS). The large number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping studies for diverse crops species have provided an abundance of DNA marker-trait associations. In this review, we present an overview of the advantages of MAS and its most widely used applications in plant breeding, providing examples from cereal crops. We also consider reasons why MAS has had only a small impact on plant breeding so far and suggest ways in which the potential of MAS can be realized. Finally, we discuss reasons why the greater adoption of MAS in the future is inevitable, although the extent of its use will depend on available resources, especially for orphan crops, and may be delayed in less-developed countries. Achieving a substantial impact on crop improvement by MAS represents the great challenge for agricultural scientists in the next few decades.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reliability of selection using single and flanking markers (adapted from Tanksley (1983), assuming no crossover interference). The recombination frequency between the target locus and marker A is approximately 5% (5 cM). Therefore, recombination may occur between the target locus and marker in approximately 5% of the progeny. The recombination frequency between the target locus and marker B is approximately 4% (4 cM). The chance of recombination occurring between both marker A and marker B (i.e. double crossover) is much lower than for single markers (approx. 0.4%). Therefore, the reliability of selection is much greater when flanking markers are used. Adapted from formulae from Liu (1998, p. 310).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Marker development ‘pipeline’.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Levels of selection during marker-assisted backcrossing. A hypothetical target locus is indicated on chromosome 4. (a) Foreground selection, (b) recombinant selection and (c) background selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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