Browsing by Subject "Quantitative Trait Loci"
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Item Developing a web accessible integrated database and visualization tool for bovine quantitative trait loci(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Polineni, PavanaA quantitative trait locus (QTL) is the location of a gene that affects a trait that is measured on a quantitative (linear) scale. Many important agricultural traits such as weight gain, milk fat content and intramuscular fat in cattle are quantitative traits. There is a need to integrate genomic sequence data with QTL data and to develop an analytical tool to visualize the data. Without integration, application of this data to agricultural enterprise productivity will be slow and inefficient. My thesis presents a web-accessible tool called the Bovine QTL Viewer developed to solve this problem. It consists of an integrated database of bovine QTL and the QTL viewer to view the QTL and their relative chromosomal position. This tool generates dynamic and interactive images and supports research in the field of genomics. For this tool, the data is modeled and the QTL viewer is developed based on the requirements and feedback of experts in the field of bovine genomics.Item Elucidating and Mapping Heat Tolerance in Wild Tetraploid Wheat (Triticum turgidum L.)(2012-02-14) Ali, Mohamed Badry MohamedIdentifying reliable screening tools and characterizing tolerant germplasm sources is essential for developing wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties suited for the hot areas of the world. Our objective was to evaluate heat tolerance of promising wild tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) accessions that could be used as sources of heat tolerance in common- and durum-wheat (Triticum durum) breeding programs. We screened 109 wild tetraploid wheat accessions collected by the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) from the hottest wheat growing areas in Africa and Asia, as well as, two common wheat checks for their response to heat stress by measuring damage to the thylakoid membranes, flag leaf temperature depression (FLTD), and spike temperature depression (STD) during exposure to heat stress for 16 beginning at anthesis. Measurements were taken on the day of anthesis then 4, 8, 12, and 16 days post anthesis (DPA) under controlled optimum and heat-stress conditions. Individual kernel weight (IKW) and heat susceptibility index (HSI) measurements were also obtained. Prolonged exposure to heat stress was associated with increased damage to thylakoid membranes, as indicated by the high ratio of constant fluorescence (O) to peak variable fluorescence (P). A positive and significant correlation was found between O/P ratio and both FLTD and STD under heat-stress conditions. A negative and significant correlation was found between FLTD and HSI and between STD and HSI based on the second and third measurements (4 and 8 DPA). Correlations obtained after the third measurement were not significant because heat-stress accelerated maturity and senescence. For a pedigree-based mapping strategy a family approach was then developed by crossing and back-crossing heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible germplasm. A set of 800 lines resulting from the pedigree-based family approach was phenotyped using FLTD, chlorophyll content and yield and its components under heat stress. Genotyping of these lines was accomplished using simple sequence repeat (SSRs) markers. Some QTLs associated with heat stress tolerance were identified. This study identified potential heat-tolerant wild tetraploid wheat germplasm and QTL conditioning heat tolerance that can be incorporated into wheat breeding programs to improve cultivated common and durum wheat.Item QTLs for Energy Related Traits in a Sweet ? Grain RIL Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] Population(2012-10-19) Felderhoff, TerryRecent initiatives for biofuel production have increased research and development of sweet sorghum. Currently, the initial major limitation to integrating sweet sorghum into existing production systems is the lack of sweet sorghum hybrids adapted to industrial production systems. Hybrid development is now underway, and the application of genetic markers can be used to define the genetic basis of sugar yield and its components, as well as reduce the time required to deliver new sweet sorghum hybrids to market. The purpose of this research was to further characterize the genetic components that influence sweet sorghum productivity, agronomics, and composition. Specifically, a grain x sweet sorghum recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis related to sugar production was evaluated for 24 phenotypic traits including brix, percent moisture, and biomass yield across four environments. The 185 F4 RILs were derived from the parents 'BTx3197' and 'Rio', which are pithy stalk grain and juicy stalk sweet sorghums respectively. Following screening, two genetic maps were constructed with 372 and 381 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) evaluated using an Illumina GoldenGate assay. Analysis of the data in QTL Cartographer revealed a major and previously reported QTL for soluble solids on chromosome 3, but in contrast to previous studies, this QTL co-localized with other QTLs that have a negative influence on biomass and seed production. Therefore, selection for this QTL may not be advantageous. Because only a few QTLs for percent moisture were found, the results indicated that the pithy stalk phenotype does not have a major effect on percent moisture as measured in this study. Thus, breeding for high or low moisture content will be more challenging than previously expected. The absence of dominance effects indicated that brix must be high in both parents to produce high brix in the hybrid.