"The CAREBREED project, based at the multi-disciplinary Institute for Research of Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University (NU), UK will deliver high quality training over 2 years to a talented Serbian small-grain cereals breeder in uses of molecular marker technologies and phenotyping to characterize unique wheat genetic stocks. Series of near-isogenic lines (NILs) have been produced to target 18 regions of the bread wheat genome where major quantitative trait locus (QTL) clusters for yield, its components, phenology, leaf dimensions and antioxidant contents were previously located using 95 wheat doubled haploid lines from the cross Chinese Spring (CS) x SQ1. The project will deliver training in using microsatellite (SSR) markers and their applications in modern cereal breeding, including marker-assisted breeding, making genetic maps and QTL analysis. After familiarization with DNA protocols the fellow will screen 180 NILs with 20 SSR markers to delineate sizes of introgressed donor segments from CS into SQ1, their relations to targeted QTLs and the extent of background genome heterogeneity. In parallel experiments, NILs will be grown under control and stressed pot conditions of drought and abscisic acid stress-hormone treatment and ozone exposure in open-top chambers, measuring traits for which the original QTL clusters were selected to identify environmental triggers for these QTLs. Crosses between NILs differing in yield QTLs will be made to test the extent to which yield QTLs are additive. The Fellow will visit the John Innes Centre, Norwich for 3 months to be trained in manual SSR genotyping and other modern marker systems. The project finishes with a period of writing up at Newcastle and planning for the future. A comprehensive programme of generic skills will be provided by NU Research Staff Support Team. The fellow will be supervised jointly by two senior researchers with over 50 years experience training PhD students and experienced researchers."