Simulation of the comparative gains from four different hybrid tree breeding strategies

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Kerr ◽  
M J Dieters ◽  
B Tier

There is increasing interest in the deployment of interspecific hybrids in forest tree planting. The associated breeding programs are usually an adaptation of the reciprocal recurrent selection (RRS) strategy outlined by Comstock et al. (R. Comstock, H. Robonson, and P. Harvey. 1949. Agron. J. 41: 360–367) or use recurrent selection for general combining ability (GCA) in the pure species. This study uses a computer simulation tool known as XSIM, which has been described in a previous paper, to investigate the efficiency of four hybrid strategies. In addition to conventional RRS, we considered RRS with forward selection (RRS-SF), a strategy that approximately halves the generation interval needed for RRS, because hybrid and pure species progeny are bred simultaneously. Forward and backward selections are also made simultaneously and not in successive generations as is the case for RRS. An innovative best linear unbiased prediction analysis makes this possible. The development of a synthetic species (SYN) and pure species selection (PSS) were other strategies tested. The strategies were tested across a wide range of genetic structures. Genetic structures were defined as particular combinations of the correlation between pure species and hybrid performance for each species and the proportion of the genetic variance that is additive, dominance, and epistatic for each species. The results of the simulation have shown that the SYN strategy is the most cost effective across a wider range of genetic structures. This is especially so for those structures where there is less dominance variance and the pure–hybrid correlations in both species are greater than zero. Where the SYN strategy is not cost effective, the RRS-SF strategy is then the best option.

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Kerr ◽  
M J Dieters ◽  
B Tier ◽  
H S Dungey

Computer simulation is the only realistic method of evaluating alternative methods of breeding hybrid forest trees. Empirical tests would be very long term and expensive. This paper describes the development of a simulation program, called XSIM, which generates two different but closely related outcrossing tree species. The genetic correlation between performance in each parental species and performance in the resulting hybrid can be set, in addition to the amounts and types of variances in each parental species. The breeding strategies available for testing include conventional reciprocal recurrent selection, reciprocal recurrent selection with forward selection, recurrent selection within each pure species, and the creation of a synthetic species. XSIM allows the strategies to be compared using the same base populations, equivalent selection intensities, and comparable mating patterns. Innovative best linear unbiased prediction procedures allow all ancestral and current progeny generation data, from both parental species and the hybrid, to be analysed together. The theoretical basis for the simulation is given, and genetic and statistical models are described. In summary, XSIM allows rigorous comparisons of the strategies in terms of genetic gain per time and provides useful insight into hybrid forest tree breeding.


2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 282-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Perron

AbstractA strategy for the genetic improvement of Larix decidua P. Mill., L. kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière and their hybrid (L. x marschlinsii Coaz) in Québec, Canada, was set up to provide short and long-term genetic gains, as well as basic populations for some fundamental experiments. A reciprocal recurrent selection with forward selection strategy (RRS-FS) will be applied by using a pollen mix breeding with a partial population paternity analysis (PMX/WPPA). The genetic mechanisms responsible for heterosis among trees remain poorly understood. This complicates the implementation of multi-species genetic improvement programmes seeking to achieve the full benefits of interspecific hybridization. Various strategies to exploit heterosis are outlined. To expand our knowledge and guide our future choices, basic research has been integrated directly into breeding and testing activities, as well as through experiments integrated within activities leading to recommendations about the top-ranked families to be used in reforestation (cuttings). These experiments can also serve as the basis for future studies seeking a better understanding of heterosis through molecular genetics.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1192-1198
Author(s):  
M.S. Mohammad ◽  
Tibebe Tesfaye ◽  
Kim Ki-Seong

Ultrasonic thickness gauges are easy to operate and reliable, and can be used to measure a wide range of thicknesses and inspect all engineering materials. Supplementing the simple ultrasonic thickness gauges that present results in either a digital readout or as an A-scan with systems that enable correlating the measured values to their positions on the inspected surface to produce a two-dimensional (2D) thickness representation can extend their benefits and provide a cost-effective alternative to expensive advanced C-scan machines. In previous work, the authors introduced a system for the positioning and mapping of the values measured by the ultrasonic thickness gauges and flaw detectors (Tesfaye et al. 2019). The system is an alternative to the systems that use mechanical scanners, encoders, and sophisticated UT machines. It used a camera to record the probe’s movement and a projected laser grid obtained by a laser pattern generator to locate the probe on the inspected surface. In this paper, a novel system is proposed to be applied to flat surfaces, in addition to overcoming the other limitations posed due to the use of the laser projection. The proposed system uses two video cameras, one to monitor the probe’s movement on the inspected surface and the other to capture the corresponding digital readout of the thickness gauge. The acquired images of the probe’s position and thickness gauge readout are processed to plot the measured data in a 2D color-coded map. The system is meant to be simpler and more effective than the previous development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Rokhana Faizah ◽  
Sri Wening ◽  
Hernawan Yuli Rahmadi ◽  
Abdul Razak Purba

Inbreeding is a common method used to reproduce candidate mother plant from selected parental lines for commercial seeds in Reciprocal Recurrent Selection (RRS) oil palm breeding program. However this practice may increased homozigosity level of selected population. This study concerned the level of homozygosity of SP540T fourth generations and Dura Deli Dolok Sinumbah fifth generations (3 crosses respectively) and their correlation with inbreeding depression symptoms. Polymerase Chain Reaction-Simple Sequence Repeat (PCR-SSR) with 16 markers developed for oil palm was used to analyze 327 samples. The result shows that the levels of homozigosity of SP540T fourth selfing generation were ranged between 0.44-0.84 or 0.61 in average. While the levels of homozygosity of Dura Deli fifth selfing generations were ranged between 0.60-0.93 or 0.78 in average. The homozygosity level in Dura Deli was 1.27% higher than SP540T populations. Correlation analysis showed that the higher the level of homozygosity, the higher of the inbreeding symptoms 2 observed (R =0.95).


Author(s):  
Allan Matthews ◽  
Adrian Leyland

Over the past twenty years or so, there have been major steps forward both in the understanding of tribological mechanisms and in the development of new coating and treatment techniques to better “engineer” surfaces to achieve reductions in wear and friction. Particularly in the coatings tribology field, improved techniques and theories which enable us to study and understand the mechanisms occurring at the “nano”, “micro” and “macro” scale have allowed considerable progress to be made in (for example) understanding contact mechanisms and the influence of “third bodies” [1–5]. Over the same period, we have seen the emergence of the discipline which we now call “Surface Engineering”, by which, ideally, a bulk material (the ‘substrate’) and a coating are combined in a way that provides a cost-effective performance enhancement of which neither would be capable without the presence of the other. It is probably fair to say that the emergence and recognition of Surface Engineering as a field in its own right has been driven largely by the availability of “plasma”-based coating and treatment processes, which can provide surface properties which were previously unachievable. In particular, plasma-assisted (PA) physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques, allowing wear-resistant ceramic thin films such as titanium nitride (TiN) to be deposited on a wide range of industrial tooling, gave a step-change in industrial productivity and manufactured product quality, and caught the attention of engineers due to the remarkable cost savings and performance improvements obtained. Subsequently, so-called 2nd- and 3rd-generation ceramic coatings (with multilayered or nanocomposite structures) have recently been developed [6–9], to further extend tool performance — the objective typically being to increase coating hardness further, or extend hardness capabilities to higher temperatures.


Biostatistics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dane R Van Domelen ◽  
Emily M Mitchell ◽  
Neil J Perkins ◽  
Enrique F Schisterman ◽  
Amita K Manatunga ◽  
...  

SUMMARYMeasuring a biomarker in pooled samples from multiple cases or controls can lead to cost-effective estimation of a covariate-adjusted odds ratio, particularly for expensive assays. But pooled measurements may be affected by assay-related measurement error (ME) and/or pooling-related processing error (PE), which can induce bias if ignored. Building on recently developed methods for a normal biomarker subject to additive errors, we present two related estimators for a right-skewed biomarker subject to multiplicative errors: one based on logistic regression and the other based on a Gamma discriminant function model. Applied to a reproductive health dataset with a right-skewed cytokine measured in pools of size 1 and 2, both methods suggest no association with spontaneous abortion. The fitted models indicate little ME but fairly severe PE, the latter of which is much too large to ignore. Simulations mimicking these data with a non-unity odds ratio confirm validity of the estimators and illustrate how PE can detract from pooling-related gains in statistical efficiency. These methods address a key issue associated with the homogeneous pools study design and should facilitate valid odds ratio estimation at a lower cost in a wide range of scenarios.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 492
Author(s):  
Meriem Riache ◽  
Pedro Revilla ◽  
Oula Maafi ◽  
Rosa Ana Malvar ◽  
Abderahmane Djemel

Drought and low nitrogen are major stresses for maize (Zea mays L.), and maize populations from the Sahara Desert are potential sources of stress tolerance. The objectives were to assess the tolerance and varietal and heterosis effects of Algerian populations under no-nitrogen fertilization and water stress. A diallel among six Algerian maize population was evaluated under drought (300 mm irrigation) vs. control (600 mm) and no-nitrogen fertilization vs. 120 kh ha−1 N fertilization. Genotypes showed significant differences and genetic effects for water- and nitrogen-stress tolerance. We propose a reciprocal recurrent selection to take advantage of additive and non-additive effects, using AOR and IGS, since they showed good performance in optimum and stress conditions, for improving yield heterosis for AOR × IGS. Negative effects are not expected on plant height, anthesis–silking interval or early vigor. These populations and BAH could be sources of inbred lines tolerant to drought and no-nitrogen fertilization. There was no relationship between origin and genetic group and stress tolerance per se or as parents of tolerant crosses. These populations and crosses could be used as base material among Algerian populations, for breeding programs focusing on tolerance to water or nitrogen stress.


Author(s):  
Mamou Diallo ◽  
Servé W. M. Kengen ◽  
Ana M. López-Contreras

AbstractThe Clostridium genus harbors compelling organisms for biotechnological production processes; while acetogenic clostridia can fix C1-compounds to produce acetate and ethanol, solventogenic clostridia can utilize a wide range of carbon sources to produce commercially valuable carboxylic acids, alcohols, and ketones by fermentation. Despite their potential, the conversion by these bacteria of carbohydrates or C1 compounds to alcohols is not cost-effective enough to result in economically viable processes. Engineering solventogenic clostridia by impairing sporulation is one of the investigated approaches to improve solvent productivity. Sporulation is a cell differentiation process triggered in bacteria in response to exposure to environmental stressors. The generated spores are metabolically inactive but resistant to harsh conditions (UV, chemicals, heat, oxygen). In Firmicutes, sporulation has been mainly studied in bacilli and pathogenic clostridia, and our knowledge of sporulation in solvent-producing or acetogenic clostridia is limited. Still, sporulation is an integral part of the cellular physiology of clostridia; thus, understanding the regulation of sporulation and its connection to solvent production may give clues to improve the performance of solventogenic clostridia. This review aims to provide an overview of the triggers, characteristics, and regulatory mechanism of sporulation in solventogenic clostridia. Those are further compared to the current knowledge on sporulation in the industrially relevant acetogenic clostridia. Finally, the potential applications of spores for process improvement are discussed.Key Points• The regulatory network governing sporulation initiation varies in solventogenic clostridia.• Media composition and cell density are the main triggers of sporulation.• Spores can be used to improve the fermentation process.


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