Kinoshita Sei, Sakurai Kengo, Hamazaki Kosuke, Tsusaka Takahiro, Sakurai Miki, Shirasawa Kenta, Isobe Sachiko, Iwata Hiroyoshi
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, Chiba, Japan.
Theor Appl Genet. 2025 Jun 20;138(7):155. doi: 10.1007/s00122-025-04935-7.
Herein, a method has been proposed for selecting optimal cross pairs based on the genetic potential of progeny in interpopulation crosses, considering different genetic effects among populations. In the breeding programs for self-pollinating plants, genetic improvements in multiple traits can be challenging when relying solely on a single biparental population, and interpopulation crosses are employed to integrate favorable alleles from multiple biparental populations to overcome this limitation. In this context, it is crucial to consider distinct genetic effects in different populations. In this study, we used a selection method based on the usefulness criterion (UC) to identify cross pairs suitable for interpopulation crosses. We expanded this approach to enhance breeding programs by accounting for varying genetic backgrounds within the genomic selection framework. Using the medicinal plant perilla as the study material, we performed simulations to compare the efficacy of selection based on the estimated genotypic values with that of selection based on UC. Our findings demonstrate that the proposed method is effective in facilitating the simultaneous improvement of multiple traits, particularly by considerably increasing the genetic gains among the top-performing individuals in the population. Furthermore, we provide guidelines for implementing interpopulation crosses, including recommendations for the optimal generation for crossing and an appropriate reference generation for calculating UC. The results obtained in this study offer valuable insights for small-scale breeding programs aimed at simultaneously enhancing multiple traits through interpopulation crosses and can be applied to a wide range of crops, including neglected and underutilized species.
本文提出了一种基于群体间杂交后代遗传潜力选择最优杂交组合的方法，同时考虑了群体间不同的遗传效应。在自花授粉植物的育种计划中，仅依靠单一的双亲群体对多个性状进行遗传改良具有挑战性，因此采用群体间杂交来整合多个双亲群体的有利等位基因以克服这一限制。在此背景下，考虑不同群体中独特的遗传效应至关重要。在本研究中，我们使用了基于有用性标准（UC）的选择方法来鉴定适合群体间杂交的杂交组合。我们扩展了这种方法，通过在基因组选择框架内考虑不同的遗传背景来加强育种计划。以药用植物紫苏为研究材料，我们进行了模拟，比较基于估计基因型值的选择与基于UC的选择的效果。我们的研究结果表明，所提出的方法在促进多个性状的同时改良方面是有效的，特别是通过显著增加群体中表现最佳个体的遗传增益。此外，我们提供了实施群体间杂交的指导方针，包括杂交最优世代的建议和计算UC的合适参考世代。本研究获得的结果为旨在通过群体间杂交同时改良多个性状的小规模育种计划提供了有价值的见解，并且可以应用于包括被忽视和未充分利用的物种在内的广泛作物。
