Application of Genome-Wide Association Analysis and Genomic Selection in Crop Genetic Research

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been an outburst of innovations in the field of ‘Genomics’ which can be employed for the identification of genes/genomic regions for useful traits from the large set of germplasm collections conserved in genebanks. The important ones to mention are high throughput genotyping assays, whole genome sequencing (WGS), Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS). GWAS is an emerging and one of the most widely used approaches to identify QTLs for complex traits. It is based on linkage disequilibrium (LD); it takes advantage of the historical recombination available in germplasm and results in high-resolution mapping. Statistical tools are advancing to deal with false positives in GWAS due to the population structure and multiple testing. Further, multi-locus and multi-traits GWAS models enable the identification of precise and pleiotropic QTLs, respectively. The number of QTLs/genes have been identified for complex traits like biotic and abiotic stresses, quality traits, nutritional potential, and morphological, and physiological traits in different crops through GWAS. Once validated, these genes/QTLs are a valuable asset that can be used in crop improvement programs through molecular breeding.

GS is of special interest and has emerged as a promising approach for the genetic improvement of complex traits. GS couples the power and relevance of large plant breeding populations with genome-wide molecular markers to predict the total genetic value for complex or economically important traits such as yield. The key conceptual difference between conventional breeding and genomic selection approaches is that in the former, selections of candidate varieties are based on the observed phenotypic performance, whereas, in the latter, selections are made based on genetic makeup. A robust theoretical and empirical literature shows that GS methods can predict performance with sufficient accuracy to allow selection on the basis of markers alone.

Given these, the current issue aims to compile the recent advances in the area of GWAS, GS and their applications in crop improvement. We encourage submitting research and review articles related to the area, including GWAS using high-density markers, multi-locus and multi-trait GWAS, haplotype mapping, advanced software and tools for GWAS, and utilizing GWAS in crop improvement, etc.

Dr. Vijay Gahlaut
Dr. Vandana Jaiswal
Dr. Sandeep Kumar
Guest Editors

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