HRT 819: Advanced Plant Breeding

Course Code: HRT 819

Credits and Offerings

3 credits
Fall semester of even years

Course Description

HRT 819 is designed to serve as an introductory plant breeding and genetics course for incoming graduate students with little or no background in plant breeding or as a senior undergraduate course to introduce undergraduate students to plant breeding and potential future graduate research. The goals for this course are for students to acquire and demonstrate an understanding of the core principles and practices of plant breeding, including variations in plant reproductive biology and how these mechanisms are used in plant breeding. This course is structured to serve as the first in a two course Advanced Plant Breeding series. The second course, Advanced Plant Breeding II, will cover the applications of genetics/genomics and statistics to cultivar development while using computational methods. This course will take an active learning approach to expose students to computer programming and simulations of breeding programs to understand statistical and quantitative genetic theory.

Course Objectives

Learning Objectives

Acquire and demonstrate an understanding of the core principles and practices of plant breeding
Acquire and demonstrate an understanding of how breeding strategies are based on fundamental genetic and quantitative genetic principles and the crop’s biology and evolutionary history.
Demonstrate the ability to seek, interpret, and critically review new findings in the field of study
Acquire quantitative and qualitative analytical and critical thinking skills important to leading a plant breeding program
Effectively communicate knowledge of scientific concepts, principles and problem solving
Understand how socio-economic issues interface with plant breeding, genetics, and biotechnology.

Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

Identify characteristics of self- and cross-pollinated plants
Identify and utilize sources of genetic variation to conduct a breeding program
Determine breeding methodology appropriate for plants with different mating systems
Compare and contrast a variety of plant breeding and selection techniques
Utilize unique aspects of a crop’s reproductive biolog to design strategies to make hybrid cultivars
Compare and contrast genetic and breeding implications for allo- and auto-polyploid crops
Analyze journal articles and review current developments in plant breeding and cultivar development
Establish and organize a hypothetical plant breeding program
Describe an appropriate selection experiment for a variety of crops and traits
Describe the commercial and scientific nature of the modern plant breeding industry

Topics

Introduction to Plant Breeding
- Role, Impact, and History of Plant Breeding
- Management and Organization in Plant Breeding
- Industry Perspectives from Plant Breeders
Fundamental Concepts in Plant Breeding
- Qualitative and Quantitative Traits
- Heritability and Gain from Selection
- Genotype-Environment Interactions (P = G + E, G x E)
- Genetic Expectations in Unselected and Selected Populations
- Population Dynamics of Self and Cross Pollination
Plant Breeding Techniques
- Hybridization, Heterosis, and Heterotic Groups
- Plant Domestication and Landrace Improvement
- Germplasm Utilization and Resources; Mutation Breeding
- Breeding for Yield and Quality Traits
- Breeding Approaches in Self-Pollinated, Cross-Pollinated, and Clonally Propagated Crops
Advanced Topics in Plant Breeding
- Abiotic and Biotic Stress Management in Breeding
- Strategies to Improve Selection Accuracy (Phenomics, QTLs, GWAS, MAS/Genomic Selection)
- Polyploidy and its Evolutionary Significance
- Gametophytic and Sporophytic Self-Incompatibility
- Sex Expression and Hybrid Production
- Male Sterility and its Applications
- Gene Editing in Plant Breeding
Career and Regulatory Aspects
- Plant Breeding as a Career
- Plant Release and Intellectual Property
- Seed Certification, Testing, and Sales