title: Performance of Seven Tree Breeding Strategies Under Conditions of Inbreeding Depression.
abstract: In the domestication and breeding of tree species that suffer from inbreeding depression (ID), the long-term performance of different breeding strategies is poorly known. Therefore, seven tree breeding strategies including single population, subline, selfing, and nucleus breeding were simulated using a multi-locus model with additive, partial, and complete dominance allele effects, and with intermediate, U-shaped, and major allele distributions. The strategies were compared for genetic gain, inbreeding accumulation, capacity to show ID, the frequencies and fixations of unfavorable alleles, and genetic variances in breeding and production populations. Measured by genetic gain of production population, the nucleus breeding and the single breeding population with mass selection strategies were equal or superior to subline and single breeding population with within-family selection strategies in all simulated scenarios, in spite of their higher inbreeding coefficients. Inbreeding and cross-breeding effectively decreased ID and could in some scenarios produce genetic gains during the first few generations. However, in all scenarios, considerable fixation of unfavorable alleles rendered the purging performance of selfing and cross-breeding strategies ineffective, and resulted in substantial inferiority in comparison to the other strategies in the long-term.
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organization (CSIRO), Black Mountain Laboratories, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia harry.wu@slu.se.
authors.forename: Harry X
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Hallingbäck
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Orleans, Unité d'Amélioration, Génétique et Physiologie des Arbres Forestiers, B. P. 20619, 45166 Olivet Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Leopoldo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000483:Alleles; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D007178:Inbreeding / Q000379:methods; D000071422:Inbreeding Depression; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D014197:Trees / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: breeding strategy; finite locus model; genetic gain; inbred-hybrid; multiple population; nucleus; subline