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Genomic prediction unifies animal and plant breeding programs to form platforms for biological discovery

Nature Genetics volume 49, pages 1297–1303 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The rate of annual yield increases for major staple crops must more than double relative to current levels in order to feed a predicted global population of 9 billion by 2050. Controlled hybridization and selective breeding have been used for centuries to adapt plant and animal species for human use. However, achieving higher, sustainable rates of improvement in yields in various species will require renewed genetic interventions and dramatic improvement of agricultural practices. Genomic prediction of breeding values has the potential to improve selection, reduce costs and provide a platform that unifies breeding approaches, biological discovery, and tools and methods. Here we compare and contrast some animal and plant breeding approaches to make a case for bringing the two together through the application of genomic selection. We propose a strategy for the use of genomic selection as a unifying approach to deliver innovative 'step changes' in the rate of genetic gain at scale.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Comparison of animal and plant breeding approaches.
Figure 3: A variant of the two-part breeding program design for plant breeding.
Figure 4: Framework for combining approaches.

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Acknowledgements

The Implementing Genomic Selection in CGIAR Breeding Programs Workshop was funded by the CGIAR Consortium and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); it was held at the CGIAR Consortium offices in Montpellier, France.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK

    John M Hickey & John M Hickey

  2. National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge, UK

    Tinashe Chiurugwi, Ian Mackay, Tinashe Chiurugwi, Ian Mackay & Gregor Gorjanc

  3. Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, UK

    Wayne Powell & Wayne Powell

  4. Agrigenomics, Illumina, Paris, France

    Andre Eggen

  5. Diversity Arrays Technology, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Andrzej Kilian

  6. International Livestock Research Institute Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Chris Jones & Raphael Mrode

  7. Biosciences for Farming in Africa, St Edmund's College, Mount Pleasant, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Claudia Canales

  8. EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, Brazil

    Dario Grattapaglia

  9. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Rabat, Morocco

    Filippo Bassi

  10. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Gary Atlin

  11. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

    Ian Dawson

  12. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Ismail Rabbi

  13. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Texcoco, Mexico

    Jean-Marcel Ribaut & Jessica Rutkoski

  14. WorldFish, Penang, Malaysia

    John Benzie

  15. Genus, Matrix House, Basingstoke, UK

    Jon Lightner

  16. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, International Livestock Research Institute Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Joram Mwacharo

  17. LGC, Hoddesdon, UK

    Joris Parmentier

  18. Genomics & Open-source Breeding Informatics Initiative, Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Kelly Robbins

  19. Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK

    Leif Skot

  20. Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Marnin Wolfe

  21. Bioversity International, Montpellier, France

    Mathieu Rouard

  22. Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park Innovation Centre, Norwich, UK

    Matt Clark

  23. AbacusBio, Ltd, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Peter Amer

  24. Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, Montpellier, France

    Peter Gardiner

  25. African Orphan Crops Consortium, World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

    Prasad Hendre

  26. Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers Research Program on Dryland Cereals, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Telangana, India

    Shoba Sivasankar

  27. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Søren Rasmussen

  28. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Eschbach, Germany

    Susanne Groh

  29. International Relations Unit, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Swindon, UK

    Vicky Jackson

  30. James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK

    William Thomas

  31. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT–Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre, International Center for Research in Agroforestry House, Nairobi, Kenya

    Yoseph Beyene

Authors
  1. John M Hickey
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  2. Tinashe Chiurugwi
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  3. Ian Mackay
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  4. Wayne Powell
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Consortia

Implementing Genomic Selection in CGIAR Breeding Programs Workshop Participants

  • John M Hickey
  • , Tinashe Chiurugwi
  • , Ian Mackay
  • , Wayne Powell
  • , Andre Eggen
  • , Andrzej Kilian
  • , Chris Jones
  • , Claudia Canales
  • , Dario Grattapaglia
  • , Filippo Bassi
  • , Gary Atlin
  • , Gregor Gorjanc
  • , Ian Dawson
  • , Ismail Rabbi
  • , Jean-Marcel Ribaut
  • , Jessica Rutkoski
  • , John Benzie
  • , Jon Lightner
  • , Joram Mwacharo
  • , Joris Parmentier
  • , Kelly Robbins
  • , Leif Skot
  • , Marnin Wolfe
  • , Mathieu Rouard
  • , Matt Clark
  • , Peter Amer
  • , Peter Gardiner
  • , Prasad Hendre
  • , Raphael Mrode
  • , Shoba Sivasankar
  • , Søren Rasmussen
  • , Susanne Groh
  • , Vicky Jackson
  • , William Thomas
  •  & Yoseph Beyene

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wayne Powell or Wayne Powell.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

A list of members and affiliations appears at the end of the paper.

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Cite this article

Hickey, J., Chiurugwi, T., Mackay, I. et al. Genomic prediction unifies animal and plant breeding programs to form platforms for biological discovery. Nat Genet 49, 1297–1303 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3920

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3920

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