Crop Breeding Chips and Genotyping Platforms: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives

Abstract

There is a rapidly rising trend in the development and application of molecular marker assays for gene mapping and discovery in field crops and trees. Thus far, more than 50 SNP arrays and 15 different types of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) platforms have been developed in over 25 crop species and perennial trees. However, much less effort has been made on developing ultra-high-throughput and cost-effective genotyping platforms for applied breeding programs. In this review, we discuss the scientific bottlenecks in existing SNP arrays and GBS technologies and the strategies to develop targeted platforms for crop molecular breeding. We propose that future practical breeding platforms should adopt automated genotyping technologies, either array or sequencing based, target functional polymorphisms underpinning economic traits, and provide desirable prediction accuracy for quantitative traits, with universal applications under wide genetic backgrounds in crops. The development of such platforms faces serious challenges at both the technological level due to cost ineffectiveness, and the knowledge level due to large genotype-phenotype gaps in crop plants. It is expected that such genotyping platforms will be achieved in the next ten years in major crops in consideration of (a) rapid development in gene discovery of important traits, (b) deepened understanding of quantitative traits through new analytical models and population designs, (c) integration of multi-layer -omics data leading to identification of genes and pathways responsible for important breeding traits, and (d) improvement in cost effectiveness of large-scale genotyping. Crop breeding chips and genotyping platforms will provide unprecedented opportunities to accelerate the development of cultivars with desired yield potential, quality, and enhanced adaptation to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Comparison of array‐ and sequencing‐based markers for genome‐wide association mapping and genomic prediction in spring wheat

“…For the last three decades, molecular markers have acted as a versatile genetic tool in basic and applied research including studies on domestication, phylogenetic analysis, genetic diversity, genetic mapping, gene cloning, marker‐assisted selection, and genomic prediction (Dreisigacker et al., ; Rasheed et al., ). Molecular marker techniques started with the low‐throughput restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and recently peaked into the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers based on the next‐generation sequencing approaches.…”

Phenotyping and genotyping parents of sixteen recombinant inbred peanut populations

“…Genotyping platforms have evolved rapidly in recent years (Rasheed et al, 2017). Discovery of single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers from next generation sequencing data greatly increased the marker density for peanut .…”

Genomics-assisted breeding – A revolutionary strategy for crop improvement

“…Rasheed et al (2017) reviewed the progress, challenge and perspective of crop breeding chips and genotyping platforms, which provided great potential for crop breeding. Two chip-based technologies have been widely used, namely the GeneChip TM microarray technology from Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA, USA; www.affimetrix.com) and the BeadArray TM technology from Illumina (San Diego, CA, USA; www.illumina.com).…”