Source: MICHIGAN STATE UNIV submitted to NRP
GENOMICS-BASED APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING PETUNIA PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0225911
Grant No.
2011-51181-30666
Cumulative Award Amt.
$1,256,039.00
Proposal No.
2011-01508
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2011
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2016
Grant Year
2011
Program Code
[SCRI]- Specialty Crop Research Initiative
Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
Performing Department
Horticulture
Non Technical Summary
Petunia is among the most valuable bedding plant crops grown in the United States. However, greenhouse production is extremely energy intensive and the profitability of greenhouse crops is threatened by challenges such as increasing energy and labor costs, and public concerns over carbon dioxide emissions. Traditional breeding approaches have been slow to improve stakeholder-identified critical traits such as early flowering under non-optimal conditions. Molecular breeding techniques have not been adopted by the floriculture industry due to a lack of sequence data for molecular marker development and a shortage of trained workers knowledgeable in the application of molecular breeding techniques. We will develop resources to utilize marker assisted selection for the improvement of petunia, focusing on development of varieties exhibiting earlier flowering under non-optimal conditions as a test for marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding, and evaluate the cost and benefit of adopting MAS, including economic and environmental impacts. Our long-term goal is to provide resources and training for the floriculture industry to adopt MAS breeding to improve the speed and efficiency with which they can respond to emerging threats to profitability and sustainability, and to analyze the economic and environmental consequences of utilizing these techniques. A multi-component outreach plan has been developed to engage the industry throughout the project. Components of this outreach plan include open access to all genomic and genetic resources developed from the project, and training for students and industry members in the implementation of molecular plant breeding techniques and training students in agricultural economics. We will actively engage the breeding and production sectors of floriculture, as well as national industry associations, throughout the project. This industry engagement will ensure the wide availability of developed resources (populations, markers, sequences, etc.) and broader adoption of the developed technologies. Additionally, this increased participation will facilitate a nationwide field trial of the recombinant inbred line populations to identify molecular markers linked to a broad range of industry-identified priority traits.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2012123108030%
2032123108040%
2032123302010%
6012123301010%
6012123302010%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
2123 - Bedding/garden plants;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 1080 - Genetics; 3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to develop the genomic tools and training necessary for the commercial floriculture industry to adopt molecular plant breeding methodologies to improve the speed and efficiency with which the industry can respond to emerging challenges, including increased production costs, tolerance of abiotic stresses and resistance to biotic stresses. In support of our long-term goal, the specific objectives for this proposal are to: 1) sequence the transcriptomes (expressed genes) of three Petunia species, Petunia axillaris, P. exserta, and P. integrifolia, which have been utilized to develop the commercial Petunia hybrida germplasm; 2) utilize the sequence data to develop single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers; 3) develop genetic linkage maps for the interspecific hybrid populations P. axillaris x P. exserta and P. integrifolia x P. axillaris ; 4) use these populations and markers to develop molecular markers for early flowering and landscape performance traits; 5) evaluate the impact of reduced production time on profitability, CO2 emissions and economic and environmental efficiency; and 6) provide genetic and genomic resources and training in the use of molecular breeding techniques to students and professional floriculture breeders. Completion of the project objectives will provide the necessary resources and training to allow the industry to adopt marker assisted breeding, and provide analysis of the economic and environmental consequences of employing these techniques to reduce production time. In addition, this project will provide valuable resources for our long-term scientific goals which include understanding factors limiting development rates of horticultural crops, developing Petunia as a model system for plant biology and comparative genomics of the Solanaceae.
Project Methods
In order to employ molecular breeding techniques, baseline genomic data and genetic linkage maps need to be generated to allow for development of specific molecular markers for traits of interest, such as the stakeholder-identified trait of earlier flowering. Through this project, we will sequence the transcriptomes of three Petunia species, utilizing a variety of tissues and stages of development, to identify SSR and SNP markers across species. These markers will be utilized to genotype 300 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the interspecific hybrid populations P. axillaris x P. exserta and P. integrifolia x P. axillaris for the development of genetic linkage maps. We will generate approximately 3000 SNP markers for allelic discrimination and mapping in P. integrifolia x P. axillaris and P. axillaris x P. exserta RIL populations. The two RIL populations will be grown in several greenhouse trials and at ten field sites representing diverse environments throughout the United States for phenotypic data collection. Data will be collected on numerous stakeholder-identified traits of interest, including components of growth and flowering habit and disease ratings. Specific parameters will include leaf unfolding rate, time to flower, flower diameter and length, branch number, plant height and spread. The phenotypic data and genetic linkage map data will be used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to identify molecular markers associated with traits of interest. Following the QTL analysis, we will select individuals from the RIL populations exhibiting the extremes of the phenotypic range for development rate as parents for test crosses within the RIL populations to evaluate the utility of the developed markers. An economic and environmental impact analysis will be conducted, focusing on industry profitability, production efficiency (both economic and environmental), and carbon dioxide emission consequences of utilizing marker assisted selection to develop early flowering varieties under non-optimal conditions. A week-long short course in molecular plant breeding theory and hands-on application will be developed and utilized to train floriculture industry breeders in molecular breeding methodologies.

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary audiences served by this project are the commercial floriculture industry, both breeders and producers. The development of new genetic resources targets floriculture breeders. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Student and Postdoc presentations at various scientific meeting. Presentations to stakeholder groups on utilizing genomics to improve breeding efficiency. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated thorough scientific presentations and publications, and through electronic communications with our stakeholder advisory board. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Genomics-based approaches were employed to understand the genetic control of crop traits that regulate flowering time, including development rate, and crop quality in Petunia. Two interspecific recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, Petunia axillaris x P. exserta and P. integrifolia x P. axillaris, were developed, comprising approximately 350 and 200 F7 individuals, respectively. For each population, 188 RILS were genotyped with a GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing) approach. High density linkage maps were constructed for the RIL populations with 6,291 SNPs placed on the P. axillaris x P. exserta map and 3,297 SNPs placed on the P. integrifolia x P. axillaris map. These populations were evaluated for ca. 15 crop timing and crop quality traits, including development rate, at 14, 17 and 20 ºC. The phenotypic data were utilized for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of these important traits. QTL were identified for all traits evaluated. Many QTL were population-specific, underscoring the value of utilizing multiple populations. Additionally, some QTL were robust across temperature, while others were only significant in a subset of temperature treatments evaluated. We also generated de novo transcriptomes for three Petunia spp.: P. axillaris, P. exserta , and P. integrifolia through RNAseq analysis of five different tissue libraries for each species, 3-week old whole seedlings, mixed floral developmental stages, shoot apices, trichomes, and callus. These three transcriptome assemblies were then mined for large scales identification of simple sequence repeat (SSR) microsatellite markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms between species for use in genetic mapping and gene discovery for traits of interest. From this analysis, 2,949 SSR markers and over 89,000 SNPs were identified. Of these SNPs, 15,701 SNP loci were converted into user-friendly cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers. Additionally, floral or floral and leaf tissue libraries from 13 Petunia hybrida commercial cultivars, selected to represent as much phenotypic diversity as possible, were sequenced by RNAseq to identify a SNPs among commercial germplasm. The two RIL populations were also grown in field trials at seven locations in six different states (CA, FL, NC, NH, MI, PA) to collect phenotypic data on landscape performance traits including floral coverage, vigor, floral color retention, plant height and spread. QTL analysis of these traits revealed both common and site-specific QTL, as well as a cluster of QTL on chromosome 2. An additional replicated field trial in FL identified QTL for several flowering traits. Additionally, RNA-seq was performed on eight P. integrifolia × P. axillaris RILs varying in development rate. Initial analyses revealed approximately 200 differentially expressed genes between fast- and slow-developing lines, 13 of which mapped to within 1 centimorgen (cM) of a development rate QTL. From these results, a panel of candidate genes potential controlling development rate was identified for further functional analysis. The results of this project increase our understanding of the genetics of critical crop timing and quality traits in petunia and provide floriculture industry breeders with resources and tools to facilitate breeding improved varieties more efficiently.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Chen, Q. and Warner, R.M. (2016) Identification and evaluation of QTL associated with flowering and branching traits in a petunia RIL population. Poster presented at the National Association of Plant Breeders annual meeting, Raleigh, N.C., Aug. 15-18.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Cao, Z., Guo, Y., He, Y., Warner, R. and Deng, Z. (2016) QTL identification for plant and flower traits using recombinant inbred lines and SNP markers. Poster presented at Plant & Animal Genome XXIV, San Diego, CA Jan. 9-13.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Bombarely, A., M. Moser, A. Amrad, M. Bao, L. Bapaume, C. S. Barry, &, R.M. Warner, et al. (2016). Insight into the evolution of the Solanaceae from the parental genomes of Petunia hybrida. Nature Plants 2: 16074.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Guo, Y., Wiegert-Rininger, K., Vallejo, V. A., Barry, C. S., Warner, R.M. (2015) Transcriptome-enabled marker discovery and mapping of plastochron-related genes in Petunia spp. BMC Genomics, 16:726
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Guo, Y., Chen, Q., L. W.-K. and *Warner, R.M. (2016) Understanding genetic determinants of development rate in Petunia. Poster presented at 15th World Petunia Days meeting, Wittenberg, Germany, Sept. 9-11.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Chen, Q., Guo, Y., Warner, R.M. (2016) QTL mapping of flowering and branching traits in petunia. Paper presented at 113th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Atlanta, GA, Aug. 8-12.


Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary audiences served by this project are the commercial floriculture industry, both breeders and producers. The development of new genetic resources targets floriculture breeders. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Student and Postdoc presentations at the American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting Plant and Animal Genome XXIIIconference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated thorough scientific presentations and publications, and through electronic communications with our stakeholder advisory board. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continuedanalysis of differential gene expression data and fine mapping of identified QTL to facilitate identification of candidate genes underlying traits of interest.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Early flowering under non-optimal conditions such as cool temperatures is an important breeding target for greenhouse crop production. We are utilizing genomics-based approaches to understand crop traits that regulate flowering time, including development rate, in Petunia. De novo transcriptome assemblies were constructed for three wild species (P. integrifolia, P. axillaris and P. exserta) and mined for molecular markers. More than 89,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified among the species. In addition, SSR markers were identified from the P. axillaris transcriptome. The transcriptome was also mined for petunia homologs of genes known to influence development rate (plastochron). These plastochron-related transcripts were also converted to cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers and mapped in a P. integrifolia × P. axillaris F2 population. One of these genes, encoding an MEI2-like protein, co-localized with a previously identified QTL for development rate located on chromosome 5. Additionally, two interspecific hybrid Petunia recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, P. integrifolia × P. axillaris, and P. axillaris × P. exserta were developed and genotyped with a GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing) approach. High density linkage maps were constructed for the RIL populations with 6,291 SNPs placed on the P. axillaris x P. exserta map and 3,297 SNPs placed on the P. integrifolia x P. axillaris map. QTL explaining ca. 30% of the observed variation in development rate were identified. Furthermore, RNA-seq was performed on eight P. integrifolia × P. axillaris RILs varying in development rate. Initial analyses revealed over 200 differentially expressed genes between fast- and slow-developing lines. We are currently working to integrate these approaches to identify genes controlling development rate in petunia. Understanding this important trait will facilitate breeding of new varieties that can be produced in shorter periods of time, thus reducing production inputs and costs for growers.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Vallejo V.A., Tychonievich J., Lin W.-K., Wangchu L., Barry C.S., Warner R.M. (2015) Identification of QTL for crop timing and quality traits in an interspecific Petunia population. Mol. Breed. 35:2 DOI 10.1007/s11032-015-0218-4
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Guo, Y, Wiegert-Rininger, KE, Vallejo VA, Barry CS, Warner RM. Transcriptome-enabled marker discovery and mapping of plastochron-related genes in Petunia spp. BMC Genomics (accepted pending minor revision).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Chen, Q and Warner RM (2015) Characterizing crop timing and quality traits of an interspecific hybrid Petunia axillaris � P. exserta F7 recombinant inbred line population. Poster presented at 112th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, New Orleans, LA, Aug. 4-7.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Guo, Y., K. Wiegert-Rininger, V.A. Vallejo, C.S. Barry and R.M. Warner (2015). Genomics-based approaches to understand control of crop timing traits in Petunia. Poster presented at 25th International Eucarpia Symposium  Section Ornamentals, Melle, Belgium, June 28  July 2.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Guo, Y., K. Wiegert-Rininger, V.A. Vallejo, C.S. Barry and R.M. Warner (2015). An integrated approach to understand control of development rate in Petunia. Paper presented at 14th World Petunia Days meeting, Murten, Switzerland, April 9-12.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Guo, Y., K. Wiegert-Rininger, V.A. Vallejo, C.S. Barry and R.M. Warner (2015). An integrated genomics approach to study petunia development rate. Poster presented at Plant & Animal Genome XXIII, San Diego, CA Jan. 10-14.


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The primary audiences served by this project are the commercial floriculture industry, both breeders and producers. The development of new genetic resources targets floriculture breeders. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Student and Postdoc presentations at the Plant and Animal Genome XXII conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Presentations at scientific meetings and a conference for floriculture industry plant breeders. A stakeholder advisory group meeting was held. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Generated de novo transcriptomes for three Petunia spp.: P. axillaris, P. exserta , and P. integrifolia through RNAseq analysis of five different tissue libraries for each species, 3-week old whole seedlings, mixed floral developmental stages, shoot apices, trichomes, and callus. Sequences were deposited to Genbank/EMBL/DDBJ BioProject under numbers PRJNA262254, PRJNA262142, and PRJNA261953. These include SRA (Sequence Read Archive) runs for P. axillaris: SRR1585615, SRR1585635, SRR1585830, and SRR1585954-1585955; P. exserta: SRR1586492-1586494, SRR1586500, and SRR1586504; P. integrifolia: SRR1587109, SRR1587150-1587151, and SRR1587153-1587154. Transcriptome Shotgun Assembly projects were also deposited under accessions GBRU00000000 (P. axillaris), GBRT00000000 (P. exserta), and GBRV00000000 (P. integrifolia). These three transcriptome assemblies were then mined for large scales identification of simple sequence repeat (SSR) microsatellite markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms between species for use in genetic mapping and gene discovery for traits of interest. From this analysis, 2,949 SSR markers and over 89,000 SNPs were identified. Of these SNPs, over 15,000 SNP loci were converted into user-friendly cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers. Additionally, floral or floral and leaf tissue libraries from 13 Petunia hybrida commercial cultivars, selected to represent as much phenotypic diversity as possible, were sequenced by RNAseq to identify a SNPs among commercial germplasm. Two recombinant inbred line populations, P. integrifolia x P. axillaris, and P. axillaris x P. exserta, were grown in field trials at seven locations in six different states (CA, FL, NC, NH, MI, PA) to collect phenotypic data on landscape performance traits including floral coverage, vigor, floral color retention, plant height and spread. These data will be used for genetic mapping of these traits. These populations were also genotyped using a genotyping-by-sequencing approach, and SNP-based genetic linkage maps were generated for each population.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Walworth, A.E., G.-Q. Song and R.M. Warner (2014). Ectopic AtCBF3 expression improves freezing tolerance and promotes compact growth habit in petunia. Mol. Breed. 33:731-741 DOI 10.1007/s11032-013-9989-7
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Vallejo V.A., Tychonievich J., Lin W.-K., Wangchu L., Barry C.S., Warner R.M. Identification of QTL for crop timing and quality traits in an interspecific Petunia population. Mol. Breed. (accepted).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Warner, R.M., K. Wiegert-Rininger, Y. Guo, W.-K. Lin, V. Vallejo and C.S. Barry (2014). Genetic and genomics-based approaches to elucidate crop timing and quality traits in petunia. Invited presentation at Plant & Animal Genome XXII, San Diego, CA, Jan. 11-15.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Wiegert-Rininger, K., Y. Guo, V. Vallejo, C.S. Barry and R.M. Warner (2014). De novo transcriptome assembly and single nucleotide polymorphisms identification in three wild Petunia spp. Poster presented at Plant & Animal Genome XXII, San Diego, CA, Jan. 11-15.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lin, W.-K. (2014). Understanding the genetics of development rate in petunia. MS Thesis. Michigan State University. 100 pp.


Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The primary target audiences for this project during the reporting period were commercial floriculture breeders and other researchers. Interactions with commercial floriculture breeders during the reporting period included onsite research trials and a stakeholder advisory board meeting. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been presented at national and international research conferences. Additionally, results were presented to stakeholders at a stakeholder advisory board meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We developed F2 populations between previously identified fast- and slow-developing P. integrifolia × P. axillaris recombinant inbred lines (RILs) carrying different combinations of positive and negative alleles for QTL-flanking SSR markers previously associated with development rate. These populations were phenotyped at two temperatures and genotyped for the SSR markers of interest to evaluate the relationship between marker alleles and development rate. We developed de novo transcriptome assemblies, annotation and characterization for three Petunia species. Petunia axillaris, P. exserta and P. integrifolia transcriptome assemblies were developed utilizing RNA seq data from five unique tissue libraries (callus, 3-week old seedling, shoot apical meristem, mixed floral developmental stages, and trichome) and included a total of 281M, 235M and 271M high quality reads, which were initially assembled into 67,813, 58,293 and 87,218 transcripts, respectively. Following assembly, unigenes were extracted for annotation and genes associated with floral development, vegetative growth to reproductive transitions, anthocyanin biosynthesis and temperature response processes were identified. A computational pipeline was developed for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection between the species.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Tychonievich, J., L. Wangchu, C. Barry and R.M. Warner (2013). Utilizing wild species for marker-assisted selection of crop timing and quality traits in Petunia. Acta Hortic. 1000:465-470.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin, W.-K. and R.M. Warner (2013) Identification and evaluation of QTL associated with development rate in petunia. Poster presented at the 3rd annual National Association of Plant Breeders meeting, Tampa, FL, June 2-5.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin, W.-K. and R.M. Warner (2013) Characterizing crop timing and quality traits of a Petunia integrifolia � P. axillaris recombinant inbred line population under different temperatures. Poster presented at 110th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Palm Desert, CA, July 22-25.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lin, W-K., Wiegert, K., Vallejo, V., Barry, C.S. and R.M.Warner (2013) Development of genetic and genomics-based resources for elucidating crop timing and quality traits in petunia. Paper presented at the 13th World Petunia Days meeting in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Sept. 13-16.


Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Petunia axillaris and P. integrifolia are the progenitor species of P. x hybrida. Two interspecific recombinant inbred line populations, P. axillaris x P. exserta and P. integrifolia x P. axillaris, were developed, comprising approximately 350 and 200 F7 individuals, respectively. The P. integrifolia x P. axillaris population was evaluated for development rate and several crop timing and quality parameters, including leaf number below the first flower, time to flower, branch number, flower bud number, and flower size. From this, the lines exhibiting the fastest and slowest development rates were identified. These lines are currently being employed to evaluate the robustness of three quantitative trait loci that we previously identified to be associated with development rate in a P. integrifolia x P. axillaris F2 population. Test cross populations are in development. In order to develop single nucleotide polymorphism markers, RNA was isolated from a variety of tissues (callus, whole seedling, shoot apical meristems, and a range of stages of floral development) for P. axillaris, P. exserta and P. integrifolia, and sequenced utilizing the Illumina Hi-Seq platform. An annual stakeholder advisory panel meeting, comprising members of the ornamental plant industry and project directors, met at Michigan State University to discuss the progress on the project and to plan activities for the upcoming year. A grower questionnaire was developed to facilitate the economic and environmental component of this project. The questionnaire was revised in consultation with the stakeholder advisory panel at the annual project meeting and with growers at the 2012 Metropolitan Detroit Flower Growers Association annual meeting. A meeting with the National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) Michigan Office was held to plan for survey implementation. PARTICIPANTS: Michigan State University: Ryan Warner, Project Director; Cornelius Barry, Co-PD; Cholani Weebadde, Co-PD; Wei-Kuang Lin, M.Sc. student; Mike Olrich, Technician. University of Florida: David Clark, Co-PD; Zhanao Deng, Co-PD; Zhengfei Guan, Co-PD; Feng Wu, Post-doctoral Research Associate. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary audiences served by this project are the commercial floriculture industry, both breeders and producers. The development of new genetic resources targets floriculture breeders. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Floriculture industry breeders currently rely on visual evaluation of breeding populations to develop improved cultivars. This method requires a large investment in land and human resources to evaluate large populations. Developing molecular markers for critical traits, such as early flowering under suboptimal environments, will improve the efficiency of breeding by allowing breeders to cull undesirable genotypes early on, greatly reducing the size of populations to be evaluated, thereby reducing inputs and costs of breeding. The recombinant inbred line populations will aid in development of molecular markers for breeding petunia cultivars that can be produced with reduced inputs. Additionally, the populations themselves will serve as a novel source of diversity for traditional petunia breeding by floriculture industry breeders.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period