Genomics a tool in conifer breeding: Norway spruce a case study

Title : Genomics a tool in conifer breeding: Norway spruce a case study

Abstract:

Norway spruce is a boreal forest tree species of significant ecological and economic importance. Hence there is a strong imperative to dissect the genetics controlling important wood quality traits in the species. We performed a functional Genome-Wide Association Mapping (GWAS) and a Genomic Selection (GS) cross-validation study. GWAS was conducted for 17 wood traits in Norway spruce using 178101 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from exome genotyping of 517 mother trees. The wood traits were defined using functional modelling of wood properties across annual growth rings. We applied a LASSO based association mapping method using a functional multi-locus mapping approach that utilizes latent traits, with a stability selection probability method as the hypothesis testing approach to determine significant Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs). The same SNP collection were applied in a GS cross-validation was conducted in 60 half-sib families for solid wood properties collected with Silviscan technology from pith to bark and indirect methods. The study allowed the design of a cost-effective protocol for the implementation of wood solid into conifer breeding.

Biography:

M Rosario García-Gil studied at the University of Valencia Biological sciences with a master in biochemistry and microbiology. She conducted her PhD work in genomics applied to fruit tree breeding at the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Her postdoc work was conducted at the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland on the topic of population genetics and local adaptation. She continued her carrier as assistant professor at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, University of Agricultural sciences, SLU, Umea, Sweden. She is presently associate professor at the same department and University. She has published 42 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and three book chapters.