Investigating the magnitudes and molecular bases of genetic improvement in cereals

为了满足人类的需求，粮食产量必须增加，但对于加拿大东部的重要农作物大麦、燕麦和小麦，我们不知道过去粮食产量的增加速度，也不知道这些增加中有多少是由于遗传或气候变化等环境因素造成的。我们也不知道选择了哪些等位基因来改善植物的表现，也不知道所选择的等位基因影响的生物过程。这项工作基于对历史和当前品种试验数据的分析，将揭示环境和遗传对植物产量影响的长期趋势；对植物表现的选择如何改变等位基因变异；所选择的等位基因如何影响性状变异；以及选择如何针对基因调控。仅在安大略省和魁北克省，这项工作就为改善种植面积超过130万英亩的大麦和小麦品种提供了关键战略。集中的系谱信息和历史作物数据也为未来的研究提供了关键的数据资源。正向选择是推动自然和人造环境中生物变异的主要力量。这项工作将阐述对受欢迎性状的正向选择如何影响遗传变异的理论。

To meet human demands, grain production must increase, yet for the important crops barley, oat, and wheat in eastern Canada, we do not know the rate of past grain production increases, nor the proportion of these increases that were due to genetics or environmental factors such as climate change. We also do not know the alleles that were selected to improve plant performance nor the biological processes the selected alleles affect. This work based on analyses of historical and current variety trial data will reveal long term trends of environmental and genetic effects on plant yields; how selection for plant performance has altered allelic variation; how selected alleles contribute to trait variation; and how selection has targeted gene regulation. The work offers key strategies for improving the barley and wheat varieties grown on over 1.3 million acres in Ontario and Quebec alone. Centralized pedigree information and historical crop data also offers critical data resources for future studies. Positive selection is a major force driving biological variation in natural and man-made environments. The work will address theories as to how positive selection for favored traits acts upon genetic variation.