**Session VI -- Plant Breeding, Germplasm Utilization and Cereal
Genomics -- Talk: Anderson, Jim**

**WheatCAP: Bringing Genomics to the Wheat Fields**

J.A. Anderson^1\*,^ P.S. Baenziger^2^, G. Bai^3^, B. Berzonsky^4^, G.
Brown-Guedira^5^, K. Campbell^6^, B.F. Carver^7^, S. Chao^8^, E.
Elias^4^, J. Dubcovsky^9^, A. Fritz^10^, C.A. Griffey^11^, S.D.
Haley^12^, J.W. Johnson^13^, S.F. Kianian^4^, K.K. Kidwell^14^, D.E.
Matthews^15^, M. Mergoum^4^, H. Ohm^16^, J. Peterson^17^, O.
Riera-Lizarazu^17^, J. Rudd^18^, J. Sherman^19^, M.A Soria^9^, L.
Talbert^19^, M.E. Sorrells^20^, E. Souza^21^, L. Yan^7^, and R.
Zemetra^22^

^1^Dept. of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul,
MN; ^2^Dept. of Agronomy and Horticulture, Univ. of Nebraska Lincoln,
Lincoln, NE; ^3^USDA/ARS/PSERU Dept of Agronomy, Kansas State Univ..
Manhattan, KS; ^4^Dept. of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State Univ.,
Fargo, ND; ^5^Plant Science Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Raleigh, NC;
^6^USDA-ARS Wheat Genetics, Quality, Physiology & Disease Research Unit,
Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA; ^7^Dept. of Plant and Soil
Sciences, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK; ^8^USDA-ARS Biosciences
Research Lab, Fargo, ND; ^9^Dept. of Plant Sciences, Univ. of California
Davis, Davis, CA; ^10^Dept. of Agronomy, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan,
KS; ^11^Dept. of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech.,
Blacksburg, VA; ^12^Soil and Crop Sciences Dept., Colorado State Univ.,
Fort Collins, CO; ^13^Coll. of Agric. and Env. Sci., Univ. of Georgia.
Griffin, GA; ^14^Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences. Washington State
Univ., Pullman, WA; ^15^USDA-ARS, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; ^16^Dept.
of Agronomy, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN; ^17^Dept. of Crop and
Soil Science, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR; ^18^Texas A&M Univ.
System, Amarillo, TX; ^19^Dept. of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology,
Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT; ^20^Dept. of Plant Breeding &
Genetics, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; ^21^USDA-ARS Soft Wheat Quality
Laboratory, Wooster, OH; ^22^Univ. of Idaho Campus, Moscow, ID

\*Corresponding Author: PH: (612) 625-9763; E-mail: ander319@umn.edu

**Abstract**

The Wheat Coordinated Agricultural Project (WheatCAP) is a multi-state,
multi-institution project, funded by USDA/CSREES and dedicated to the
genetic improvement of U.S. wheat through research, education and
extension. Since public wheat varieties account for 78% of the wheat
production in the United States and 25 public wheat breeding programs
are participating, this project has a significant economic impact. A
primary objective it to increase the competitiveness of U.S. public
wheat breeding by the incorporation of marker assisted selection (MAS).
With input from regional stakeholders, each breeder determined the most
important traits to select through MAS and has access to 5,000 analyses
per year via one of four USDA-ARS Regional Genotyping Centers. During
the first two years of the project, the high-throughput genotyping
centers have generated more than 190,000 data points. The traits
selected include disease and pest resistance genes (65%), quality traits
(17%), tolerance to abiotic stresses (12%), and agronomic or special
purpose traits (9%). Molecular markers for new traits are being
identified using QTL analysis in 18 segregating populations created by
the breeding programs using parental lines adapted to the different US
wheat growing regions. As part of our outreach efforts, we are informing
growers and end-users of the economic advantage of lines developed by
MAS through field days and demonstration plots. We are training over 90
students at all levels in agricultural sciences and breeding as part of
our educational objectives. See
[http://maswheat.ucdavis.edu](http://maswheat.ucdavis.edu/) for
additional information including MAS protocols and specific Education
and Outreach efforts.