Plant Breeding

International postgraduate course

Wageningen Academy Wageningen, the Netherlands 6 week sessions in 2014 and 2015

course

Information and registration

Course feeThe course fee of € 15.995,- covers tuition, course materials, coffee/tea and lunches. Course fee does not cover diner and hotel accommodations. Overnight stays can be booked optionally but are charged additionally. No financial assistance is available.

CancellationRegistration can only be cancelled by letter. Cancellation between 4 and 2 weeks before start of the course, will result in an € 50.- invoice for administrative costs. Cancellation within 2 weeks before the start of the course will result in a full course fee invoice.

RegistrationRegistration closes at December 1st, 2013. After this date, you will receive additional information about the course. A maximum of 20 participants can take part in this course.

Terms and conditionsThe General Terms and Conditions of Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) apply to all activities of Wageningen Academy. In addition, Wageningen Academy applies additional terms and conditions. These can be read at www.wageningenUR.nl/en/wageningenacademy.

Wageningen Academy will not accept any legal liability for loss of life or property or illness during the course. Participants must arrange adequate insurance.

price € 15.995,-

max. participants 20

number of sessions 6

register before December 1, 2013

For more information, please contact WageningenAcademy.

Monique Tulp T +31 317 48 22 98 E monique.tulp@wur.nl

Registration Wageningen Academy Wageningen UR PO.Box 226 6700 AE Wageningen The Netherlands

T +31 317 48 40 93 E info.wageningenacademy@wur.nl I www.wageningenUR.nl/eng/wageningenacademy

A course in professional plant breeding The international plant breeding sector is facing the challenge to secure sufficient supply of academically trained plant breeders for the coming decade. The number of graduates with a specialization in plant breeding has decreased in the last decade. High potentials with a degree in (other) life sciences have been welcomed in the breeding industry. Consequently, there is a high demand for additional academic training. The International Postgraduate Course Plant Breeding now enables professional plant breeders and researchers to upgrade their knowledge in parallel with their current career. This course aims to add academic knowledge to the professional experience of plant breeders worldwide.

Outline of the course This course covers all theoretical and some practical subjects that are necessary for managing a professional breeding programme. It includes both basic and more complex breeding and selection methods. Also, new technological developments and their application in breeding programmes are part of the curriculum. The course consists of 6 sessions of 1 week in the period January 2014 until October 2015. In between sessions, participants are expected to perform self-study and work on specific assignments. After completing the course, participants will receive a certificate.

Target group This course is intended for professionals with a Bachelor or Master degree, who are working in the field of plant breeding and who need more theoretical background on plant breeding. More specifically, the course is designed for: • Professionals with a Master degree in life science

(e.g. biology, agriculture, horticulture), working inplant breeding or related research.

• Professionals with a Bachelor degree of AppliedScience (e.g. HBO, polytechnics) and at leastthree to five years experience in practical plantbreeding, who need more theoretical backgroundfor further professional development.

• Professionals with long-term experience and aprofessional education in plant breeding, who want torefresh and update their knowledge on plant breedingand new technological developments.

Participants are expected to have basic knowledge on genetics, plant physiology and statistics at BSc. level.

Additional master programme Following on the International Postgraduate Course Plant Breeding, it is possible to continue with the MSc Plant Sciences, specialization Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources (http://www.mps.wur.nl/UK). Based on successful completion of the postgraduate course, there will be an exam for each session. Exemptions for parts of the MSc-curriculum can be granted on an individual basis.

Programme

LecturersSpecific subjects will be taught by staff of Wageningen UR Plant Breeding and other chair groups of Wageningen UR.Dr. C.W.B. Bachem, dr. A.B. Bonnema, dr. H.J. van Eck, dr. H.J. Finkers, dr. A.W. van Heusden, dr. C.G. van der Linden, dr. C.A. Maliepaard, dr. R.E. Niks, dr. L.M. Trindade, prof. R.G.F. Visser and dr. V.G.A.A. Vleeshouwers.

Course leaderProf.dr. R.G.F. Visser is leading instructor in plant breeding at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR and head of Wageningen UR Plant Breeding.

Session 1 January 20 – 24, 2014

Theme: Plant breeding and selection I:basic principles and simple traits.• Introduction to the course• Breeding objectives• Genetic diversity and domestication• Applied genetics• Breeding of autogamous and allogamous crops• Breeding of asexually propagated crops• Breeding of hybrid cultivars• Various selection methods (including recurrent

selection)

Special case: Plant breeding all over the world, with reports made by participants

Session 4January 19 - 23, 2015

Theme: Breeding for Resistance and Quality• Resistance to biotic factors

− Qualitative and quantitative aspects of resistance− Mechanisms of resistance− The way towards resistant cultivars

• Resistance to abiotic stress factors− Plant abiotic stress response− Traits for abiotic stress breeding

Special case: Breeding for quality, biotic and abiotic stress resistance

Theme: Quantitative aspects of plant breeding• Statistics• Design and analysis of plant breeding traits• Multi-environment trials and Genotype

x Environmental Interactions• Bioinformatics: database use and

bioinformatics tools for plant breeding• Bioinformatics: DNA sequence analysis• Omics technologies in plant breeding

Special case: Data analysis using different software packages

Session 3October 6 - 10, 2014

Session 2 March 17 – 21, 2014

Theme: Plant breeding and selection II: more complex methods and quantitative traits• Mutation breeding and ploidy manipulation• Assessment of variation: data collection• More complex selection methods• Molecular markers: Linkage analysis• Marker assisted breeding• Quantitative inheritance• QTL analysis

Special case: Molecular markers: application in working lecture using software packages.

− Biotech & genomics tools for abiotic stress breeding• Breeding for quality aspects

− Impact of breeding in the quality of food-crops− Targeted breeding of biobased crops− Metabolic engineering and breeding in ornamentals

Session 5March 23 – 27, 2015

Theme: Biotechnology, including seed technology and GMOs• Genetic modification• Novel breeding technologies• Intellectual property rights (patents, PBR and EDV)• Maintenance, propagation and seed production• Seed technology• Societal context of Plant Breeding

Special case: Intellectual property rights, incl. variety protection and breeders rights

Session 6October 12 - 16, 2015

Theme: Integrating all knowledge to design a breeding programme• Design and management of a breeding programme,

group assignment with case studies in different crops