Wheat is a staple food for 35% of the world's population and is one of the most important crops to global food security. Our wheat breeding program at the Crop Development Centre applies a technological, data-driven approach to develop and commercialize improved wheat cultivars. Over the past five years, remarkable innovations have emerged that have allowed us to characterize our germplasm at the most fundamental level. We have developed and deployed sequencing-based genotyping platforms that, together with computational decision support systems, are improving selection efficacy. We are conducting whole genome sequencing and comparative (pan)genomics of diverse collections of diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid species - all with the aim to clone and functionally annotate genetic factor(s) influencing phenotypic expression of traits targeted by our selection program. CRISPR-based “de novo domestication” is also being explored as a novel approach to rapidly modify domestication-related loci to realize the breeding value of wild wheat germplasm collections. Lastly, we are integrating genomic, physiological, and digital phenotypic data to accelerate breeding cycles and to maximize genetic gains across a range of target agro-ecological environments. For the latter, we are optimizing manual and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven feature selection strategies to improve the accuracy of predicted breeding values for environmentally influenced traits, such as grain yield. Examples of how these data are being integrated and applied locally to develop new wheat cultivars adapted to Canadian production systems will be presented.

Dr. Curtis Pozniak is a Professor and Wheat Breeder at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) where he has been a faculty member since 2002. In July 2020, he was appointed Director and is responsible for managing all cereal, pulse, forage, and oilseed breeding/pathology research programs at the CDC.