Simulation of marker-assisted recurrent selection in autogamous species
Eduardo Bearzoti and Roland Vencovsky
This work used computer simulation to evaluate marker-assisted selection (MAS) in recurrent selection of autogamous species. Base populations were simulated by crossing each of five inbred lines with two others. Within each cross, 400 S0 plants were genotyped in relation to 130 marker loci spread over a fictitious genome with 50 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) randomly located. Progenies derived from such plants were taken as selection units. MAS was applied using the selection index of Lande and Thompson (1990). For most situations considered, MAS was not efficient after the first selection cycle. When considering a single cycle of selection, MAS was efficient, but strongly affected by population size and heritability. Selection of a single progeny per cross did increase linkage disequilibrium, but caused very high levels of fixation rates, which were not reduced neither with the use of 200 marker loci, nor with 20 inbred lines to form base populations.