Use of DNA-based genetic markers in plant breeding

Summary

Genetic markers have been used since the beginnings of plant breeding, but the concept of linkage and recently the availability of molecular markers have offered new and powerful tools that can help to perform the traditional tasks of selection or that can change the traditional breeding process. Markers can either be used in a descriptive manner to identify varieties, to study the ‘micro-evolution’ of composite crosses or variety mixtures or to analyse the breeding progress retrospectively in order to learn from the past. The operative use of markers in plant breeding is connected to the selection of parental lines and progeny lines. The possible implementation of these processes stretches from the introgression of specific chromosome fragments to ‘marker-based idiotype breeding’.