Thursday, November 7, 2013

Special backcross procedures



1 Congruency backcross

Congruency backcross technique is a modification of the standard backcross procedure whereby multiple backcrosses, alternating between the two parents in
the cross, are used. The technique has been used to overcome the interspecific hybridization barrier of hybrid sterility, genotypic incompatibility, and embryo abortion
that occurs in simple interspecific crosses. The crosses and their genetic contribution are demonstrated in Table 16.1.

2 Advanced backcross QTL

The advanced backcross QTL developed by S.D. Tanksley and J.C. Nelson allows breeders to combine backcross with mapping to transfer genes for QTL from unadapted germplasm into an adapted cultivar. This method was developed for the simultaneous discovery and transfer of desirable QTLs from unadapted germplasm into elite lines. It has been briefly discussed previously.

Multiline breeding and cultivar blends

N.F. Jensen is credited with first using this breeding method in oat breeding in 1952 to achieve a more lasting form of disease resistance. Multilines are generally more expensive to produce than developing a synthetic cultivar, because each component line must be developed by a separate backcross.

The key feature of a multiline cultivar is disease protection. Technically, a multiline or blend is a planned seed mixture of cultivars or lines  such that each component constitutes at least 5% of the whole mixture. The pure lines are phenotypically uniform for morphological and other traits of agronomic importance, in addition to the genetic resistance for a specific disease. The component lines are grown separately,
followed by composting in a predetermined ratio. Even though the term multiline is often used interchangeably with blend, sometimes the former is limited to mixtures involving isolines or near isogenic lines. The purpose of mixing different genotypes is to increase heterogeneity in the cultivars of self-pollinated species. This strategy would decrease the risk of total crop loss from the infection of one race of the pathogen, or some other biotic or abiotic factor. The component genotypes are designed to respond to different versions or degrees of an environmental stress factor.

One of the earliest applications of multilines was for breeding “variable cultivars” to reduce the risk of loss to pests that have multiple races and whose incidence is erratic from season to season. Planting a heterogeneous mixture can physically impede the spread of disease in the field as resistant and susceptible genotypes intermingle.

Mixtures may be composited to provide stable performance in the face of variable environment. Mixtures and blends are common in the turf-grass industry. Prescribing plants for conditions that are not clear-cut is challenging. Using mixtures or blends will increase the chance that at least one of the component genotypes would match the environment.

In backcross breeding, the deficiency in a high yielding and most desirable cultivar is remedied by gene substitution from a donor. Similarly, the deficiency of an adapted and desirable cultivar may be overcome by mixing it with another cultivar that may not be as productive but has the trait that is missing in the desirable cultivar. Even though this strategy will result in lower yield per unit area in favorable conditions, the yield will be higher than it would be underadverse conditions if only a pure adapted cultivar was planted.


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