The opportunity to study a plant or animal’s complete genome began about 50 years ago, with the advent of DNA sequencing. Today, “genomics” is mainstream, thanks to the speed and affordability of SNP genotyping and sequencing. This has accelerated our ability to identify, track and select favourable mutations.
For animals, genomic testing provides more accurate estimates of breeding value long before an animal’s own performance or progeny records are available. We can select genetically superior young animals with greater confidence, resulting in faster rates of genetic gain. For plants, genomic testing has extended selection to more complex, quantitative traits that are impacted by many genes.
In recent years, plant and animal breeders have found themselves using similar tools, such as estimated breeding values, genomic prediction models and selection indexes.
With experience in both plant and animal breeding, I’m watching with interest, as the two disciplines increasingly seek out the other’s knowledge. My background is predominantly dairy cattle breeding, mostly in data analysis related to breeding programme design and selection, and selection index development. I have also worked with beef cattle, sheep and goats, as well as being involved in plant breeding projects involving maize, soybeans and rice.
The pros of convergence
The upside of this plant-animal convergence is the potential for collaboration and knowledge transfer between traditionally independent systems. The challenges in breeding tend to be similar across species: balancing multiple traits, managing genetic diversity, shortening generation intervals, improving selection accuracy. Solutions developed in one field can often be applied directly (or creatively adapted) to help accelerate innovation across breeding programmes.
Plant breeding’s experience with multiple layers of selection can provide insight to animal breeders, throwing up opportunities they may not have considered. For example, some cattle selection traits – like semen production, embryo production, or age at puberty – are of little relevance to commercial farmers but offer substantial economic upside to the industry through advanced breeding programmes. Therefore, incorporating genetic selection and values at different selection layers could add real value.
AbacusBio has been working with plant breeders to develop comprehensive economic selection indexes for several years. While economic selection indexes have been a cornerstone in animal breeding for decades, their use in commercial plant breeding has been limited. As genomic prediction and breeding value estimation become increasingly reliable for the multitude of economically important quantitative traits, plant breeders are seeking out the tools needed to quantify trait trade-offs and rank candidates based on overall economic merit. This creates an opportunity to bring the same structured, economically driven selection approaches that have proven successful in animal breeding into plant breeding programmes.
There is enormous opportunity to continue adapting proven ideas and methods across the plant and animal disciplines, while also recognising that breeding objectives, trait priorities, and process to increase genetic gain can differ between species, environments and industries.
Apply “out of the box” methods with care
There is, however, the potential to focus too heavily on out-of-the-box approaches, overlooking the specific biological, economic or management realities that exist in one system. For example, dairy cattle breeding programmes seek to manage and limit inbreeding in both elite and commercial breeding, as excessive inbreeding can reduce performance and profitability. Conversely, many crop species (such as rice) deliberately develop inbred lines which are crossed to produce commercial hybrids.
Our AbacusBio teams working internationally are particularly mindful of local realities. Countries, industries and breeding programmes all operate in different contexts and what works in a highly developed agricultural system may not be practical elsewhere.
Even with differences in application, environment and biology, the tools needed in plant and animal breeding will continue to converge. Alongside this alignment, collaboration and knowledge transfer remain important in developing profitable and effective breeding programmes.
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