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JXB Advance Access published online on May 18, 2009
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erp130
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© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

REVIEW-ARTICLE

Molecular population genetics and agronomic alleles in seed banks: searching for a needle in a haystack?

Dario Prada *

Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, West Sussex RH17 6TN, UK

Seed banking has been the single most significant reaction of the research community to the alarming rates of plant genetic erosion occurring in the wild. One enduring challenge for a wiser utilization of the resources enclosed in seed banks, however, has been the estimation of their genetic potentials for agriculture's benefit. Key to detecting in landraces and/or wild relatives of modern crops any allelic variant lost during domestication and crop improvement is the use of molecular information to determine structure, evolution, and function of the genes harbouring these alleles. This paper reviews some of the theoretical and statistical issues surrounding the use of molecular population genetics tools for the detection of agronomical valuable alleles in seed banks. Emphasis is made on the technical limitations imposed by seed banking that may lessen the success of integrated and multi-disciplinary molecular approaches. The influence that population stratification and linkage disequilibrium exert on specific experimental designs for a better understanding of the evolutionary history of potential agronomic-related genes is also examined.

Key words: Association mapping, linkage disequilibrium, plant genetic resources, plant molecular genetics, population stratification, seed banking, selective genes

* Present address: Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Via Madre Teresa di Calcutta n.2/4 Pessina Cremonese Via Madre Teresa di Calcutta n.2/4, Pessina Cremonese, CR 26030, Italy. E-mail: dario.prada{at}pioneer.com

Received 14 January 2009; Revised 31 March 2009 Accepted 31 March 2009


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