Effect of multiple cycles of genomic selection on the wheat genome

Genomic selection facilitates rapid cycling through a breeding cycle by eliminating the need to phenotype prior to selecting superior parents and crossing among them. In winter wheat we can now complete a cycle of GS in about 12 months and two greenhouse seasons. Season consists of planting F1s from the previous cycle and selfing to obtain F2 seed. The second season involves planting and genotyping the F2s, predicting their value with GS, selecting and crossing the best, and harvesting the F1 seed. Our breeding program has completed five cycles of GS in one population primarily for grain yield, over the past five years. We have completed three cycles of GS for resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in a second population. Genotyping was done using genotyping-by-sequencing. This provides an opportunity to assess the changes in the population that have occurred as a result of this rapid cycling. These include 1) changes in genomic estimated breeding values for grain yield and FHB resistance, 2) effect of selection and drift on allele frequencies including fixation, 3) effect of selection on diversity and genetic relationships, and 4) changes in linkage disequilibrium. We are conducting these analyses and will present the results.