University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Genotype by environment model predictive ability in miscanthus

Widener, Sarah J.

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120456

Description

Title
Genotype by environment model predictive ability in miscanthus
Author(s)
Widener, Sarah J.
Issue Date
2023-05-05
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Lipka, Alexander E
Committee Member(s)
  • Jarquin, Diego
  • Sacks, Erik
  • Rutkoski, Jessica
  • Jamann, Tiffany M
Department of Study
Crop Sciences
Discipline
Crop Sciences
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • Genotype by environment
  • predictive ability
  • MISCANTHUS
  • Mia
  • Msi
  • M. sinensis
  • M. sacchariflorus
Abstract
Miscanthus is a genus of perennial grasses native to East Asia that shows promise as a biofuel energy source. Breeding efforts for increasing biofuel capability in this genus have focused on two species, namely M. sinensis (Msi) and M. sacchariflorus (Msa). For these efforts to succeed, it is critical that both Msi and Msa, as well as their interspecific crosses, are grown at higher latitudes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how well existing data from Msi and Msa trials grown at locations throughout the northern hemisphere can train state-of-the-art genomic selection (GS) models to predict genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) of dry yield for untested Msi and Msa accessions in untested environments. We found that accounting for genotype-by-environment interaction in the GS model did not notably improve predictive ability. Additionally, we observed that locations with lower latitudes showed higher predictive ability relative to locations with higher latitudes. These results suggest that it is crucial to increase trial locations at higher-latitude locations to investigate the source of this correlation. This will make it possible to train GS models using data from environments that are similar to growing conditions at the locations targeted by Msi and Msa breeders. Such an increase of trial locations in target environments could pave the way towards advancing breeding efforts for overwintering ability in Msi and Msa, and ultimately support the potential of Miscanthus as a biofuel crop.
Graduation Semester
2023-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Sarah Widener

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois