Genomic and Open-source Breeding Informatics Initiative (GOBII)

Tremendous progress in that last decade has been made in developing marker systems that are less expensive than field trials, and statistical approaches for relating phenotype to genotype that have substantial accuracy.  However, the bioinformatics of uniting high throughput markers, whole genome sequence, and phenotypes from around the world is challenging for all groups.  The Genomic & Open-source Breeding Informatics Initiative (GOBII) is the first large-scale public-sector effort to enable systematic application of high-density genotypic information to the breeding of staple crops in the developing world. The project will develop and implement genomic data management systems to enhance the capacity of public-sector breeding programs to deliver increased rates of genetic gain in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa for rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, and chickpea. The genomic data management systems will include databases, analysis pipelines, and decision support tools for plant breeders.  The open source nature of this project also provides opportunities for all sorts of other research groups to use this software stack in their own research.