The BiosearchTech Blog

In breeding programmes, selections based on a single or small number of markers to target traits in marker assisted selection (MAS) often miss the contributions of a large proportion of the genetic variants or small effects from small loci, which require additional breeding cycles and selections to identify the best lines to take forward. Traditional genotyping data from PCR and microsatellites or single sequence repeats (SSRs) doesn’t provide the details of variation at the sequence level while the fixed nature of arrays prevents them from being adapted to varying accessions, populations and breeding strategies.

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With the global population predicted to reach 9 billion people within the next 35 years, we will need to double the annual yield increases to avoid the impending food crisis. This challenge is exacerbated by unseasonal climate fluctuations that can destroy entire harvests – even in modern agricultural settings.

Rewind to last summer in the U.S., when southern-grown peaches are usually at their most delicious. But not last year - many U.S. farmers have faced a peach crisis. In South Carolina alone, as much as 90 percent of the crop had disappeared. In Georgia, often known as the Peach State, a similar story appeared.

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