PLANT GENETICS:
TA INTRO
Ryan King
QUICK BIO
 Native Oregonian: from Southern Oregon/Rogue Valley
 Worked with nursery crops, hazelnuts, vegetables, and native
plants
 B.S. in Horticulture at Oregon State in 2013
 Took Plant Genetics with Dr. Pat Hayes in 2011
 Currently M.S. student with Dr. Jim Myers, Vegetable Breeding
and Genetics Program– interested in breeding vegetables for
organic/low -input systems
NOVIC
 2016 season: managed NOVIC organic vegetable variety trials
at OSU’s Lewis Brown Research farm and coordinated with
several other farms in the Corvallis area for on -farm trials.
Crops included: tomatoes, peppers, corn, winter squash,
cabbage and turnips.
WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
 Thesis project: Assessing genetic dif ferences in populations
selected in parallel conventional and organic production
systems, using carrots and snap beans as model crops
 OSU focus: snap beans (self-pollinated model crop)
 University of Wisconsin focus: carrots (cross-pollinated model crop)
(Carrots)
THESIS PROJECT GOALS
Long term goal:
Determine most ef fective and ef ficient strategies for
breeding vegetable cultivars optimized for organic
production systems
Supporting objectives:
 Compare impact of selection for key traits
 Measure genotype x system (organic vs. conventional) and
genotype x location (Oregon and Wisconsin) interactions for key
traits, and their heritability in each system
 Determine genetic correlation between systems and locations
 Use next-generation sequencing methods to discover changes at
genome level from selection in each system
PROJECT TIMELINE
Spring
2015
Summer
2015
Summer
2016
Winter
2017
Summer
2017
Summer
2018
•Crosses made between Hystyle and Provider, OSU5630 and Black
Valentine
•F1 grown at OSU Vegetable Research Farm
•F2 grown in conventional/organic plots at Lewis Brown
•F3 grown in winter nursery in California and in OSU greenhouses
(backup)
•F4 grown in conventional/organic replicated trials at Lewis Brown.
•F5 grown in conventional/organic replicated trials in OR and WI
COMMON BEAN
Phaseolus vulgaris L.
Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Diploid (n = 11)
2n=2x=22
587 Mb (megabase=million
base pairs); (Schmutz et al.,
2014)
 Two independent
domestications: Mesoamerica
and Andes
 In 2016, ~12,000 acres were
grown for processing in Oregon
(USDA, NASS)
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Photo: Jim Myers
IMPORTANT TRAITS
Germination/Early Vigor
Yield/Productivity
Plant architecture
Pod quality
Root systems
GERMINATION
PLANT ARCHITECTURE
• Lodging
• Surface Area
Coverage
• Pod Distribution
• Branching
• Flower number
Photo: bonnieplants.com
POD QUALIT Y
• Round pod
cross section
• Low fiber
• Straight and
smooth
Image from Burpee.com
ROOT SYSTEMS
• Taproot diameter
• Number/angles of
basal and
adventitious roots
• Root nodulation
• Root rot severity
HOW WILL WE ASSESS GENETIC
DIFFERENCES?
 Genotyping will be done for F 4
(2017) and F 5 (2018) using
Illumina SNP chip
 QTL analysis incorporating mixed
model ef fects to estimate allelic
ef fects and variances
 Linkage maps and QTLs for
evaluated traits
 SNP polymorphism structures and
frequencies
 Populations will be compared to
investigate if similar or same
QTLs af fect selected traits
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
 Estimates of GxE interactions, genetic variances,
models for gene action, and heritabilities of key
traits
 Comparison of direct and indirect selection
 Identification of genomic regions of carrot and bean
with shifts in allelic frequency
 Molecular markers for important traits
 Advanced breeding lines for carrots and beans
developed in organic and conventional environments
 Info for vegetable seed companies on need to
develop independent breeding programs for organic
growers
QUESTIONS?
 Come see me for of fice hours: ALS 4026A; Wednesdays 9 -10
am