WELCOME

The nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself..

- Franklin Roosevelt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very thankful towards you sir for providing

me an opportunity to present myself in front of
you and my dear friends on the topic “Breeding
Value And Its Importance In Crop
Improvement” which helps me to gain various
knowledge.
AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY UNIVERSITY (AFU)
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
RAMPUR, CHITWAN

DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDING

COURSE TITLE: QUANTITATIVE GENETICS
COURSE CODE: PLB 613
CREDIT HOUR: 3 (3+0)

PRESENTATION ON:BREEDING VALUE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN

CROP IMPROVEMENT

PRESENTED BY: AJAY KUMAR YADAV (PLB-07M-2022)

M. Sc. Ag. 1st Year 1st Semester
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

INTRODUCTION
IMPORTANCE OF BREEDING VALUE IN CROP IMPROVEMENT

METHODS USED FOR ESTIMATING BREEDING VALUE

FORMULAS TO CALCULATE BREEDING VALUE

INTRODUCTION
BREEDING VALUE:
• Term "breeding value" was coined by British geneticist Sir Ronald A. Fisher in the early 20th
century.
• Fisher is considered one of the founders of modern statistical genetics and made significant
contributions to the study of inheritance, natural selection, and the estimation of heritability in
traits.
• Refers to the genetic value of an individual as a parent, based on the transmission of its genes to
its offspring.
• Falconer (1981) defined breeding value of an individual as the mean value of its progeny, a
simple yet powerful concept in plant and animal breeding
• Estimate of an animal’s or crop’s genetic merit for a particular trait.
• Superiority or inferiority of the offspring of an animal or crop.
• Individual have different breeding values for different traits.
INTRODUCTION cont…
• Predictor of the average performance of an individual's offspring for a given trait.
• Influenced by various factors, such as the plant's genetic diversity, the environment in which it grows,
and its interaction with other plants.
• A (additive genetic effect) is also referred to as breeding value.
• Breeding value = the value of genes to progeny
• Genetic value = the value of genes to self, it includes non additive effects (such as dominance) which
cannot be passed on to progeny
• Breeding values = the sum of the average effect of alleles (α)

For example, under a single locus model

• If αA1 = 10 & αA2 = -10
• Breeding value A1A1 = 10 + 10 = 20
• Breeding value A1A2 = 10 + (-10) = 0
• Breeding value A2A2 = -10 + (-10) = -20
INTRODUCTION cont…
• The usefulness of the concept of average effect arises from the fact, already noted, that parents
pass on their genes and not their genotypes to their progeny.
• It is therefore the average effects of the parents' genes that determine the mean genotypic value
of its progeny.
• The value of an individual, judged by the mean value of its progeny, is called the breeding value
of the individual.
• If an individual is mated to a number of individuals taken at random from the population, then
its breeding value is twice the mean deviation of the progeny from the population mean.
• The deviation has to be doubled because the parent in provides only half the genes in the
progeny, the other half coming at random from the population.
• Breeding values can be expressed in absolute units, but are usually more conveniently expressed
in the form of deviations from the population mean.
• Just as the average effect is a property of the gene and the population, so is the breeding value a
property of the individual and the population from which its mates are drawn.
• One cannot speak of an individual's breeding value without specifying the population in which it
is to be mated.
INTRODUCTION cont…

• Defined in terms of average effects, the breeding value of an individual is

equal to the sum of the average effects of the genes it carries, the summation
being made over the pair of alleles at each locus and over all loci.
• Thus, for a single locus with two alleles, the breeding values of the genotypes
are as follows:
INTRODUCTION cont…
• Extension to a locus with more than two alleles is straightforward, the breeding value
of any genotype being the sum of the average effects of the two alleles present.
• If all loci are to be taken into account, the breeding value of a particular genotype is
the sum of the breeding values attributable to each of the separate loci.
• If there is non-additive combination of genotypic values, a slight complication arises.
• We have given two definitions of breeding value, a practical one in terms of the
measured value of the progeny and a theoretical one in terms of average effects.
• Non-additive combination renders these two definitions not quite equivalent.
INTRODUCTION cont…

• Consideration of the definition of breeding value will show that in a

population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium the mean breeding value must be
zero; or if breeding values are expressed in absolute units the mean breeding
value must be equal to the mean genotypic value and to the mean phenotypic
value.
• This can be verified from the breeding values listed above. Multiplying the
breeding value by the frequency of each genotype and summing gives the
mean breeding value (expressed as a deviation from the population mean) as
INTRODUCTION cont…
• The breeding value is sometimes referred to as the 'additive genotype", and variation in breeding value
ascribed to the 'additive effects' of genes.
• Though we shall not use these terms we shall follow custom in using the term 'additive' in connection
with the variation of breeding values.
• We shall use the symbol A to designate the breeding value of an individual.
• Because the breeding value expresses the value transmitted from parents to offspring it follows that the
expected breeding value of any individual is the average of the breeding values of its two parents; and it
follows from the definition of breeding value that this is also the individual's expected phenotypic value.
• Different offspring of the same parents will differ in breeding value according to which of each parent's
two alleles they receive; the 'expected' values are simply the mean values of a large number of offspring
of the same parents.
• So, the transmission of value from parents to offspring is expressed by

where the subscripts o, s, and d refer to offspring, sire, and dam respectively.
IMPORTANCE OF BREEDING VALUE IN CROP IMPROVEMENT

• Estimate the genetic potential of an individual to transmit desirable traits (higher

yield, disease resistance, better quality, or improved adaptation to specific
environmental conditions) to its offspring.
• Helps plant breeders make informed decisions about which plants to select for
further breeding.
• By selecting plants with high breeding values, breeders can increase the
likelihood that the resulting offspring will also possess these desirable traits.
This process is known as selective breeding or genetic improvement.
• Develop new varieties with improved traits.
• Breeding values of parents predict the performanance of their offspring.
IMPORTANCE OF BREEDING VALUE IN CROP IMPROVEMENT cont…

• Allows breeders to identify individuals that are genetically superior for specific traits and to use them
in breeding programs to produce offspring with even better traits.

• Particularly important in crops that are propagated by seed, such as cereals, legumes, and oilseeds. In
these crops, the genetic potential of the next generation depends entirely on the quality of the seed
used for planting.

• In perennial crops such as fruit trees and grapevines, where the genetic potential of the plant is
realized over many years. In these crops, plant breeders select individuals with high breeding values
for traits such as fruit quality, yield, and disease resistance, to ensure that the crop remains productive
and profitable for many years.

• Breeders can save time and resources by avoiding the need to grow and evaluate large numbers of
plants. Instead, they can focus on a smaller subset of individuals that have the greatest potential for
improvement
IMPORTANCE OF BREEDING VALUE IN CROP IMPROVEMENT cont…

• Helps to reduce genetic variability within a crop by selecting plants with similar
breeding values, breeders can create more uniform crops that are less susceptible to
environmental variability.
• Help to speed up the breeding process by allowing breeders to quickly identify the best
plants for use in their programs. This can lead to faster development of new crop
varieties that are better suited to specific growing conditions or have improved qualities.
• Helps to streamline the breeding process by providing a quantitative measure of the
potential of an individual. This enables breeders to make more informed decisions about
which individuals to use as parents and which crosses to make to achieve their breeding
goals.

Overall, breeding value is an important tool for plant breeders to improve crop
productivity, quality, and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. By selecting parents with
high breeding values, breeders can produce crops that are better adapted to the needs of
growers and consumers, leading to a more sustainable and profitable agriculture sector.
METHODS USED FOR ESTIMATING BREEDING VALUE

• Estimate of the breeding value for a particular trait is obtained from

pedigree and performance information.
• Estimated by analyzing the genetic makeup of a plant using techniques
such as DNA sequencing, marker-assisted selection, or quantitative trait
loci analysis.
• Calculated by comparing the performance of an individual to the
average performance of the population it comes from.
SOME METHODS USED FOR ESTIMATING BREEDING VALUE cont…

1. Phenotypic selection: This method involves selecting plants based on

observable traits that are closely linked to the trait of interest. For example, if
the goal is to improve grain yield, plants with high grain yield are selected for
further breeding.

2. Pedigree selection: This method involves selecting plants based on the

genetic merit of their ancestors. It is based on the assumption that plants with
superior ancestors are likely to have high breeding values.

3. Marker-assisted selection: This method involves selecting plants based on

the presence of specific DNA markers that are linked to the trait of interest.
The markers are identified using molecular techniques such as DNA
sequencing and genotyping.
SOME METHODS USED FOR ESTIMATING BREEDING VALUE cont…

4. Genomic selection: This method involves using genomic information to

estimate breeding values. It uses a large number of molecular markers to predict
the breeding value of plants. The genomic information is combined with
phenotypic data to improve the accuracy of the predictions.

5. Hybridization: This method involves crossing two plants with

complementary traits to produce offspring with superior traits. The breeding
value of the offspring is estimated based on the breeding value of their parents.

6. Progeny testing: This method involves evaluating the performance of

offspring of a single plant to estimate its breeding value. The offspring are
evaluated for the trait of interest, and their performance is used to estimate the
breeding value of the parent plant.
FORMULAS TO CALCULATE BREEDING VALUE

• It can be calculated using the following formula:

• Breeding value = (h² * σ²) / 2
where:
• h² is the heritability of the trait (a value between 0 and 1 that represents the
proportion of variation in the trait that is due to genetic factors)
• σ² is the genetic variance of the trait (a measure of the amount of genetic
variation in the population for the trait)
FORMULAS TO CALCULATE BREEDING VALUE cont…

There are different formulas to determine the breeding value, depending on the
traits of interest and the breeding goals. Here are some examples:
1. Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP): This is a statistical method used to
estimate the breeding value based on performance data and pedigree information. It
takes into account the genetic relationships among animals in a population and
estimates the variance of the breeding values.
2. Genomic Selection: This method uses DNA markers to predict the breeding value of
an animal. It relies on the fact that markers associated with desirable traits are more
likely to be inherited together with the genes responsible for those traits. The breeding
value is estimated based on the genetic markers.
3. Mixed Model Equations: This method is a generalization of BLUP that allows for
more complex models, such as those that incorporate environmental effects and gene-
by-environment interactions. It can also handle missing data and non-normal
distributions.
FORMULAS TO CALCULATE BREEDING VALUE cont…

4. Animal Model: This is a method that uses a combination of pedigree and

performance data to estimate breeding values. It assumes that the genetic merit of an
animal is a function of its own performance as well as the performance of its
relatives.

5. Bayesian methods: These methods use prior information about the genetic
parameters and likelihood functions to estimate the posterior distribution of the
breeding values. They can incorporate information from multiple sources and can
handle complex models with many traits.