Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference
W40
Department of Forestry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
Loblolly pine is the most important commercial species for plantations in the
United States. The NCSU Industry Cooperative Tree Improvement Program (ICTP)
and the NCSU Forest Biotechnology Group (FBG) at North Carolina State
University have started a major effort to improve loblolly pine for
productivity and quality through both traditional breeding and biotechnology. A
large quantity of breeding material and genetic data have been generated by
ICTP over 41 years of loblolly pine breeding. FBG has made significant advances
in forest biotechnology, including genome research of forest trees. We have
developped approaches to integrate the massive available tree breeding database
and genetic marker analysis to detect and locate loblolly pine genes with major
effects and breeding significance. We use current breeding materials and
existing genetic test information to identify major genes that control growth,
disease/insect resistance and wood quality. These approaches could
significantly increase the chance of detecting major genes with economic value
and reduce time and cost for major gene detection. Quantitative data on the
traits of interest have already been collected from many progeny tests. Once
the major genes are identified in the existing breeding populations, through
genetic modeling and molecular marker confirmation, Genome Assisted Tree
Improvement could be developed for management of breeding populations and
operational deployment of genetically superior trees.