Marker-assisted selection

Marker-assisted selection uses DNA markers associated with desired traits to identify and breed promising organisms, without requiring the trait itself to be measured directly.

Genetic marker: A measurable DNA sequence or variation used to track genetic differences among organisms. Markers provide the detectable DNA variation used to identify organisms carrying desired traits.
Plant breeding: The development of plant varieties with inherited traits suited to agriculture or other uses. Crop breeders use markers to select plants for traits that are difficult or slow to observe.
Mendelian inheritance: The inheritance patterns by which alleles pass from parents to offspring. Selection works because markers and linked alleles are transmitted through predictable inheritance.
Phenotypic selection: Selection of organisms based on observed or measured traits. It relies on visible performance, whereas marker-assisted selection can identify inherited potential earlier.
Linkage disequilibrium: The nonrandom association of alleles at different loci in a population. Marker alleles predict trait alleles when they remain associated in the breeding population.
Marker-assisted recurrent selection: A breeding strategy that repeatedly selects and intercrosses individuals using markers linked to target traits. It applies markers over successive cycles to accumulate favorable alleles.
Allele: One of two or more versions of a genetic sequence at a particular locus. Markers distinguish inherited variants that may track favorable trait alleles.
Genomic selection: A breeding method that predicts an organism’s breeding value using markers distributed across its genome. Its genome-wide prediction differs from selecting for particular marker–trait associations.
Quantitative trait locus: A region of a chromosome associated with variation in a measurable trait. Markers near a trait-associated region can help select organisms carrying its favorable alleles.
Animal breeding: The planned mating of animals to produce offspring with desired inherited characteristics. Livestock programs use markers to identify animals carrying valuable inherited traits.

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