Potential Application of Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) in Oil Palm

摘要

In recent years, the burgeoning field of molecular biology has provided useful tools for rapid and detailed genetic analysis of higher organisms, including agricultural species. Perhaps the most widespread application of DNA markers is in the construction of genetic maps, which can be used to determine the chromosomal location of genes affecting simple and complex traits. By knowing the map position of a gene, one can use nearby deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) markers to diagnose the presence of the gene, without having to wait for the gene's effect to be seen. This information is critical in implementing marker-assisted selection (MAS) or molecular breeding, an approach of growing importance in plant improvement. Molecular breeding is well suited to aperennial crop like oil palm, in which the economic products are not produced until several years after planting. The use of DNA markers for selection in such crops can greatly reduce the number of breeding cycles needed. Using DNA markers, informed decisions can be made at the nursery stage regarding which individuals should be retained as breeding stock, which are satisfactory for agricultural production, and which should be culled. A number of traits in oil palm such as shell thickness, external fruit colour and fatty acid composition can eventually be tracked using molecular markers. This will fast-track the production of new and improved oil palm planting materials.