description
- "This career development grant will give advanced training in classical plant breeding and association analysis to a very experienced researcher (>10 years) with a strong background in genomics and bioinformatics. The experienced researcher will implement genomic tools in the breeding and research activities conducted by the Field Crops group at Lleida, Spain. Particularly, transfer of knowledge will be relevant for design of marker assays for existing and future projects and for grant proposals with a genomics component. The proposal is outlined in a training part where the applicant will manage a small breeding program in durum wheat over two seasons. The number of lines will be adjusted in order to ensure that the grant holder obtains broad hands on experience in phenotyping for diverse traits and the use of different experimental designs. Integration to the breeding program will include involvement in negotiations for transfer of varieties to the private sector, during the grant it is expected that no less than two varieties will be transferred to seed companies. The research part of this proposal is focused on association analysis using molecular and field data from past projects. A collection of 172 durum wheat landraces together with 20 modern varieties were grown in field trials over three years at two locations and genotyped with 1150 DArT- and 46 SSR-markers. Two studies will be done to dissect the genetic basis of (i) carbohydrate remobilization and (ii) phenology (duration of developmental phases). Advanced training in association analysis will be obtained through a one month stay at Wagening University. The main supervisor has; 33 years of small grains breeding experience; released 17 varieties; and has been leading the breeding group for 15 years, experiences that ensure success of this career development grant"