Next-generation phenotyping: requirements and strategies for enhancing our understanding of genotype–phenotype relationships and its relevance to crop improvement

• Published in: Theoretical and applied genetics Vol. 126; no. 4; pp. 867 - 887
• Main Authors: Cobb, Joshua N, DeClerck, Genevieve, Greenberg, Anthony, Clark, Randy, McCouch, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-04-2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; automation; Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Breeding - methods; chromosome mapping; Chromosome Mapping - methods; Climate change; Crops, Agricultural - genetics; cultivars; Databases as Topic - trends; Design; developmental stages; experimental design; Genetic Association Studies - methods; Genetic Association Studies - trends; Genetic diversity; Genetic engineering; geneticists; Genome-Wide Association Study - methods; Genomes; Genomics; Genotype; Genotype & phenotype; Germplasm; Life Sciences; marker-assisted selection; Mutation; Phenotype; phenotypic variation; Plant Biochemistry; plant breeders; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant genetics; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Power; remote sensing; research programs; Review; United States; United States > US; Training Population; Genomic Selection Model; Laboratory Information Management System; Genomic Prediction; Genomic Selection
• ISSN: 0040-5752; 1432-2242
• DOI: 10.1007/s00122-013-2066-0

More accurate and precise phenotyping strategies are necessary to empower high-resolution linkage mapping and genome-wide association studies and for training genomic selection models in plant improvement. Within this framework, the objective of modern phenotyping is to increase the accuracy, precision and throughput of phenotypic estimation at all levels of biological organization while reducing costs and minimizing labor through automation, remote sensing, improved data integration and experimental design. Much like the efforts to optimize genotyping during the 1980s and 1990s, designing effective phenotyping initiatives today requires multi-faceted collaborations between biologists, computer scientists, statisticians and engineers. Robust phenotyping systems are needed to characterize the full suite of genetic factors that contribute to quantitative phenotypic variation across cells, organs and tissues, developmental stages, years, environments, species and research programs. Next-generation phenotyping generates significantly more data than previously and requires novel data management, access and storage systems, increased use of ontologies to facilitate data integration, and new statistical tools for enhancing experimental design and extracting biologically meaningful signal from environmental and experimental noise. To ensure relevance, the implementation of efficient and informative phenotyping experiments also requires familiarity with diverse germplasm resources, population structures, and target populations of environments. Today, phenotyping is quickly emerging as the major operational bottleneck limiting the power of genetic analysis and genomic prediction. The challenge for the next generation of quantitative geneticists and plant breeders is not only to understand the genetic basis of complex trait variation, but also to use that knowledge to efficiently synthesize twenty-first century crop varieties.