Genetics in Agricultural Sciences

Abstract

Important concepts from population, quantitative and molecular genetics are introduced and applied to plant and animal populations.

Objective

After the course, the students will be able to - work with genetic polymorphisms and explain mechanisms underlying allele frequency changes in natural and experimental populations; - determine factors affecting the selection intensity - explain the difference between genotypic and phenotypic values - quantify the expected genetic gain per time unit - explain important molecular methods to determine genetic polymorphisms; - map traits in plant and animal populations using molecular marker information; - integrate different concepts from population, molecular and quantitative genetics and explain their importance for applications in genetics in agricultural sciences.

Content

Molecular genetics (15%) - DNA sequence variation - Marker & genotyping techologies (SSRs, AFLPs, SNPs, KASP, GBS, RADseq, AmpSeq, Chip Technologies) Population genetics (30%) - Allele- and genotype frequencies in populations - Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium - Genetic drift, differentiation of populations - Fitness, selection - Inbreeding, relationship, effective population size Quantitative genetics (40%) - Recombination, crossing over, linkage analysis, genetic mapping - QTL mapping - Forms of selection and selection differential - Heritability - Quantification of expected genetic gain - genotypic value, allele substitution effect, breeding value Integrative genetics (15%) - Genome-wide association mapping - Estimation of genomic breeding values

Resources