Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol.16, No.6, 254-261 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/tgg 256 3.3 Advantages and limitations of MAS compared with conventional breeding methods Slow breeding selection is an old problem. The emergence of MAS was originally intended to improve this aspect. It can pick out promising plants before the crops grow up, saving a lot of time and field work, especially showing advantages in those traits with low heritability and significant environmental impact. By combining multiple resistance genes, persistence and broad-spectrum properties can also be enhanced. But then again, it's not omnipotent either. For instance, a large amount of resources need to be invested in the early development of markup. Moreover, if there are no markers closely linked to the target gene, subsequent screening will also be difficult to be precise (Zhang et al., 2025). Not to mention that the identification of polygenic traits is inherently complex and prone to environmental interference. Therefore, although MAS has significant advantages in certain scenarios, in practical applications, traditional phenotypic selection remains indispensable. In recent years, the continuous development of high-throughput typing and genomic selection has also brought new possibilities to MAS, especially in terms of improving efficiency and application scope (Mapari and Mehandi, 2024). 4 Gene Identification and QTL Mapping Related to Lodging Resistance 4.1 Progress in QTL mapping for lodging resistance Not all improvements to lodging resistance rely on changing plant height. Some studies have found in wheat that certain QTLS can enhance stem strength without reducing plant height, which provides a new approach to improving lodging resistance. In fact, for crops like barley, rice and wheat, researchers have already identified many QTLS related to lodging traits on their chromosomes. For instance, 15 QTLS in wheat have been confirmed to be related to stem strength, and 27 stable QTLS associated with stem morphology and lodging index have been identified in barley. These loci remain stable in various environments. This indicates that lodging is not a simple trait controlled by a single gene; it is a composite result controlled by multiple genes. Therefore, it is feasible to use marker-assisted selection to track these key loci (Figure 1) (Long et al., 2020; Niu et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2022; Rabieyan et al., 2024). Figure 1 Measurement of crop angle of inclination (A) and presentation of various lodging stages (B). Presentation of the plot center and the healthy/lodged subplots in the field (C). Division of the plot into four quadrants Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 (D). LA1, LA2, LA3, and LA4 are corresponding to the lodged area in each quadrant. In this scenario, H1 and H2 present the healthy subplots while L1 to L6 are the lodged subplots (Adopted from Rabieyan et al., 2024)
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