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The application of the genome-wide selection technique (genome-wide selection, or GWS) allows coffee plant genetic improvement to become more agile and effective. This was one of the conclusions of the document Acceleration of coffee improvement via genomic selection: agility and effectiveness in the launch of new cultivars, the result of the work of researchers from Embrapa Café (DF), the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), the Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro (IFTM) and the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (Epamig).
With the genomic prediction technique, it is possible to identify materials that have genes in their DNA that are favorable to the expression of certain characteristics of interest to the production chain, using molecular markers. In this way, the presence of certain markers is capable of indicating that the plant has a characteristic related to them, such as, for example, resistance to a certain disease, good productivity, etc.
GWS makes it possible to predict the behavior of individuals at an early stage, which, without the tool, would only be possible in adulthood. This is especially important for breeding perennial organisms, which often take a long time to reach adulthood or the production phase. This is the case of animals, forest species, fruit plants, sugar cane and coffee. The genomic genetic value is the prediction of the phenotypic characteristics that an individual will have and is estimated by the thousands of molecular markers distributed in the genome. “These markers can be analyzed at any stage of plant development, including when it is young (seedling). It would be a prediction of how the individual will behave in terms of characteristics of agronomic interest”, explains Embrapa researcher Eveline Caixeta, who coordinated the research that evaluated the efficiency of GWS in predicting productive, agronomic and disease resistance traits and coffee plant pests. The work also analyzed the efficiency of the technique to predict the genomic genetic value (GEBV) of populations of these plants under improvement.
“Our objective with the publication is to demonstrate how one of the available biotechnological tools can help coffee genetic improvement programs and, thus, accelerate the obtaining of improved cultivars”, states Caixeta. According to the researcher, genomic selection studies in coffee are still incipient and information in this area is important to support crop improvement actions. Studies in the area also help to provide greater sustainability to the coffee chain's production system, according to the scientist.
The studies recorded that GWS contributed to the improvement of both Arabica and canephora coffee, by enabling a reduction in the time needed to complete the phenotypic selection cycle. “We obtained similar results for the two species and for the main agronomic characteristics of each of them. According to the initial work we did, we estimate a reduction of half the selection time for both”, he reports.
Genetic selection work has been carried out in Brazil since 1932. They have had a great impact on the development of cultivars with different agronomic characteristics of interest to coffee growing. Genetic improvement has allowed the coffee plant to adapt to different regions of the country; attributed greater productivity, stability and precocity, and resistance to coffee rust, the main disease of the crop. Characteristics such as tolerance to drought and frost, architecture suitable for densification; low size and crown shape suitable for mechanized harvesting; and high grain size and drink quality have also been targets of researchers over the years.
Plant genetic improvement programs result in strong impacts on agricultural production, as analyzed by the general manager of Embrapa Café, Antônio Fernando Guerra. “Initially, plant genetic improvement was based exclusively on morphoagronomic characteristics to select individuals in segregating populations”, that is, those that associate a high average and sufficient genetic variability that allows the selection of lines with superior performance to their parents. Several crosses were carried out and the plants with the best performance from an agronomic point of view were selected, which could take more than ten years to obtain the expected results.
Guerra explains that, around 40 years ago, molecular markers were developed and began to be used as an auxiliary tool for phenotypic information, allowing significant advances in several breeding programs.
He says that breeding programs are incorporating new technologies. The most commonly used approaches are molecular marker-assisted selection (SAM) and genome-wide selection (GWS). “In perennial plants with long cycles, such as coffee, the applicability of broad genomic selection assumes great importance. This strategy makes it possible to increase genetic gains, for various agronomic traits, per unit of time, which makes it possible to reduce the time it takes to launch coffee cultivars”, states the general manager.
Although most Brazilian breeding programs have a main focus on the development of cultivars of C. arabica, the growing importance of the species C. canephora (coffee canephora) has led to interest in also obtaining cultivars of this species. The commercial cultivation of canephora coffee in Brazil was boosted from the 1950s, with the advent of soluble coffees and, later, with its use in roasted and ground beans, in blends with Arabica. This increase in demand for C. canephora stimulated Brazilian production and, consequently, the expansion of the national coffee park and the development of new cultivars.
“The genetic improvement process is a long-term work and, often, when a cultivar is developed, other problems appear, making it a constant challenge for breeders to always look for new cultivars”, says Eveline Caixeta. This scenario drives the need to add new technologies capable of increasing the dynamics and responsiveness of improvement programs.
The researcher also says that the potential of biotechnology for improvement lies not only in reducing the time it takes to conduct the program, but also in the solid scientific basis that can explain the genetics and biochemistry of the changes that have occurred or may occur in the breeding process. genetical enhancement. In other words, it allows us to know the plant's genetics and the predictions of its characteristics in more detail and precision.
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