The rapid decrease in costs of DNA sequencing implies that whole-genome sequence data will be widely available in the coming few years. Whole-genome sequence data includes all base-pairs on the genome that show variation in the sequenced population. Consequently, it is assumed that the causal mutations (e.g. quantitative trait loci; QTL) are includ...
The plant family Brassicaceae (or crucifers) is an economically important group that includes many food crops (e.g. cabbages and radishes), horticultural species (e.g. Draba, Iberis, Lunaria), and model plant species (particularly Arabidopsis thaliana). Because of the fundamental importance of A. thaliana to plant biology, it makes the Brassicaceae...
DNA-informed selection can strongly improve the process of plant breeding. It requires the detection of DNA polymorphisms, calculation of genetic linkage, access to reliable phenotypes and methods to detect genetic loci associated with phenotypic traits of interest. Cultivated chrysanthemum is an outcrossing hexaploid with an unknown mode of inheri...
Drought is a major threat to agricultural production, which makes drought tolerance a prime target for breeding approaches towards crop improvement. Drought is a complex polygenic trait and poses a challenge for drought tolerance breeding. Improving crops for drought tolerance at least requires the knowledge of the physiological mechanisms of the c...
Probabilistic graphical models (PGMs) offer a conceptual architecture where biological and mathematical objects can be expressed with a common, intuitive formalism. This facilitates the joint development of statistical and computational tools for quantitative analysis of biological data. Over the last few decades, procedures based on well-understoo...
Gerbera hybrida is one of the top five cut flowers. It is well-known to people for its variation in flower color and patterning. Gerbera breeding at the moment is done using conventional methods which are based on a phenotypic selection. This has drawbacks in breeding speed and efficiency, especially for complex traits like disease resistance. Gerb...
Cum laude graduation
Trait variation within species is shaped by the genotype and the environment an individual is exposed to. Genomic information is inherited from the parents and forms the basis of the phenotype of an organism. The genetic variation between parents becomes differently distributed between their offspring, leading to trait variation in the offspring. E...
The garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a fruit species that was developed through human intervention less than 300 years ago. Currently, it is the most important soft fruit in both production as well as value and renowned for its deliciousness. There are many challenges in growing such a delicate fruit, many of which have been overcome thro...
Duchemin, S.I. (2016). Mapping and fine-mapping of genetic factors affecting bovine milk composition. Joint PhD thesis, between Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden and Wageningen University, the Netherlands Bovine milk is an important source of nutrients in Western diets. Unraveling the genetic background of bovine milk composition ...
