Genetic Analysis

Abstract

Analysis of complex relationships between genotype and phenotype is imperative for crop improvement and better production. Genetic analysis started when humans practiced selective breeding for crop improvement and reorganized with the advent of the Mendelian genetic principles. Genetic analysis requires phenotyping and genotyping followed by application of statistical principles. Advances in the field of automation and informatics lead to high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping which eventually revolutionized the field of genetic analysis. Massive parallel sequencing (MPS) based on genotyping by sequencing (GBS) is one of the best high-throughput genotyping techniques utilized for discovering single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in crop genomes and provides the insight into the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome on an extraordinary scale. Estimation of the type and extent of gene action controlling the inheritance of quantitative traits is made possible through genetic analysis. Genotype by genotype by environment (GGE) interaction is useful for evaluation of genotypes in mega-environment. Mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) is made through association between genotypic and phenotypic data and reveals the genetic basis of variation of multifactor traits in crop plants. The identified QTLs could be utilized as marker-assisted selection tool to enhance the efficiency of a breeding program dealing with the improvement of quantitative traits in a crop breeding program.