Master Internship: Estimation of genetic load through prediction tools and evaluation of its impact in resilience and productivity of grapevine
Place: UMR 1202 Biogeco
69, Route d'Arcachon, 33610 Cestas
INRAE - Pierroton
Bordeaux - FRANCE
Dates: 6 months to be done during 2023.
Salary: 600€
Population genetics theory predicts that most of the new mutations occurring in a population are neutral or slightly deleterious. High effect deleterious mutations would be rapidly removed by the means of
purifying selection. The efficacy of natural selection to remove harmful alleles can be compromised under certain situations, such as demographic bottlenecks and the presence of Hill-Robertson interference (i.e. a phenomenon that links alleles that may have different fitness values into regions of low recombination). A reduced efficacy of purifying selection entails the accumulation of deleterious mutations (genetic load) that can compromise the fitness of natural populations or the productivity and resilience in crop species. Identifying, controlling and repairing these mutations in major crop species have been identified as a capital question to move to next-generation breeding.
The main goal of this internship is to establish the relationship between genetic load and the productivity and resilience in grapevine. To meet this goal, we will take advantage of a panel of different grapevine varieties, combining whole genome re-sequencing data with the evaluation of plant fitness components (vegetative growth, grape production and resilience traits).
The activities of the student will mainly imply computer work and occasionally he/she could participate in field-work. Data analysis will imply:
- Test different bioinformatic tools to identify potentially deleterious mutations (such us SNPeff, PROVEAN…)
- Analyze phenotypic data from the experimental plot.
- Estimate the correlation between the accumulation of deleterious mutations and the measured phenotypes.
