scholarly journals Genetic Associations in Four Decades of Multi-Environment Trials Reveal Agronomic Trait Evolution in Common Bean

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice H. MacQueen ◽  
Jeffrey W. White ◽  
Rian Lee ◽  
Juan M. Osorno ◽  
Jeremy Schmutz ◽  
...  

AbstractMulti-environment trials (METs) are widely used to assess the performance of promising crop germplasm. Though seldom designed to elucidate genetic mechanisms, MET datasets are often much larger than could be duplicated for genetic research and, given proper interpretation, may offer valuable insights into the genetics of adaptation across time and space. The Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery (CDBN) is a MET for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown for over 70 years in the United States and Canada, consisting of 20 to 50 entries each year at 10 to 20 locations. The CBDN provides a rich source of phenotypic data across entries, years, and locations that is amenable to genetic analysis. To study stable genetic effects segregating in this MET, we conducted genome-wide association (GWAS) using best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) derived across years and locations for 21 CDBN phenotypes and genotypic data (1.2M SNPs) for 327 CDBN genotypes. The value of this approach was confirmed by the discovery of three candidate genes and genomic regions previously identified in balanced GWAS. Multivariate adaptive shrinkage (mash) analysis, which increased our power to detect significant correlated effects, found significant effects for all phenotypes. The first use of mash on an agricultural dataset discovered two genomic regions with pleiotropic effects on multiple phenotypes, likely selected on in pursuit of a crop ideotype. Overall, our results demonstrate that by applying multiple statistical genomic approaches on data mined from MET phenotypic data sets, significant genetic effects that define genomic regions associated with crop improvement can be discovered.


Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 215 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice H. MacQueen ◽  
Jeffrey W. White ◽  
Rian Lee ◽  
Juan M. Osorno ◽  
Jeremy Schmutz ◽  
...  

Multienvironment trials (METs) are widely used to assess the performance of promising crop germplasm. Though seldom designed to elucidate genetic mechanisms, MET data sets are often much larger than could be duplicated for genetic research and, given proper interpretation, may offer valuable insights into the genetics of adaptation across time and space. The Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery (CDBN) is a MET for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown for > 70 years in the United States and Canada, consisting of 20–50 entries each year at 10–20 locations. The CDBN provides a rich source of phenotypic data across entries, years, and locations that is amenable to genetic analysis. To study stable genetic effects segregating in this MET, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using best linear unbiased predictions derived across years and locations for 21 CDBN phenotypes and genotypic data (1.2 million SNPs) for 327 CDBN genotypes. The value of this approach was confirmed by the discovery of three candidate genes and genomic regions previously identified in balanced GWAS. Multivariate adaptive shrinkage (mash) analysis, which increased our power to detect significant correlated effects, found significant effects for all phenotypes. Mash found two large genomic regions with effects on multiple phenotypes, supporting a hypothesis of pleiotropic or linked effects that were likely selected on in pursuit of a crop ideotype. Overall, our results demonstrate that statistical genomics approaches can be used on MET phenotypic data to discover significant genetic effects and to define genomic regions associated with crop improvement.



2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Brandes ◽  
Nathan Linial ◽  
Michal Linial

AbstractThe characterization of germline genetic variation affecting cancer risk, known as cancer predisposition, is fundamental to preventive and personalized medicine. Studies of genetic cancer predisposition typically identify significant genomic regions based on family-based cohorts or genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the results of such studies rarely provide biological insight or functional interpretation. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of cancer predisposition in the UK Biobank cohort using a new gene-based method for detecting protein-coding genes that are functionally interpretable. Specifically, we conducted proteome-wide association studies (PWAS) to identify genetic associations mediated by alterations to protein function. With PWAS, we identified 110 significant gene-cancer associations in 70 unique genomic regions across nine cancer types and pan-cancer. In 48 of the 110 PWAS associations (44%), estimated gene damage is associated with reduced rather than elevated cancer risk, suggesting a protective effect. Together with standard GWAS, we implicated 145 unique genomic loci with cancer risk. While most of these genomic regions are supported by external evidence, our results also highlight many novel loci. Based on the capacity of PWAS to detect non-additive genetic effects, we found that 46% of the PWAS-significant cancer regions exhibited exclusive recessive inheritance. These results highlight the importance of recessive genetic effects, without relying on familial studies. Finally, we show that many of the detected genes exert substantial cancer risk in the studied cohort determined by a quantitative functional description, suggesting their relevance for diagnosis and genetic consulting.



2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 020-040
Author(s):  
Mariana Vaz Bisneta ◽  
Maria Celeste Gonçalves-Vidigal ◽  
Pedro Soares Vidigal Filho ◽  
Júlio Cesar Ferreira Elias ◽  
Giseli Valentini ◽  
...  

The most effective strategy to manage bean anthracnose (ANT), caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, is the use of resistant cultivars. This study aimed to evaluate resistance reactions of common bean accessions to C. lindemuthianum races 2, 9 and 1545, and to perform genome-wide association study (GWAS). Hence, 89 accessions were phenotyped and genotyped through genotyping by sequencing (GBS). As a result, 48 accessions resistant to all evaluated races were identified. Moreover, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) significantly associated with resistance were identified in new regions of chromosomes Pv03, Pv05 and Pv06, and also at the beginning of Pv04 and end of Pv11, where other resistance genes have been previously found. In reference genome these regions contain model genes encoding resistance proteins as kinases, leucine-rich repeats, receptor-like protein, copper transport protein, pentatricopeptide repeats, calcium-dependent protein kinases, and ethylene-responsive transcription factors. The genomic regions associated to ANT resistance found in this study should be validated for further use in marker assisted selection and gene pyramiding. Together with new sources of ANT resistance our findings show promise for further crop improvement.



2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy W. Butler ◽  
Sarah Cohen-Woods ◽  
Anne Farmer ◽  
Peter McGuffin ◽  
Cathryn M. Lewis

Abstract The golden era of molecular genetic research brings about an explosion of phenotypic, genotypic and sequencing data. Building on the common aims to exploit understanding of human diseases, it also opens up an opportunity for scientific communities to share and combine research data. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been widely used to locate genetic variants, which are susceptible for common diseases. In the field of medical genetics, many international collaborative consortiums have been established to conduct meta-analyses of GWAS results and to combine large genotypic data sets to perform mega genetic analyses. Having an integrated phenotype database is significant for exploiting the full potential of extensive genotypic data. In this paper, we aim to share our experience gained from integrating four heterogeneous sets of major depression phenotypic data onto the MySQL platform. These data sets constitute clinical data which had been gathered for various genetic studies for the past decade. We also highlight in this report some generic data handling techniques, the costs and benefits regarding the use of integrated phenotype database within our own institution and under the consortium framework.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajiv Sharma ◽  
James Cockram ◽  
Keith A. Gardner ◽  
Joanne Russell ◽  
Luke Ramsay ◽  
...  

AbstractThe process of crop breeding over the last century has delivered new varieties with increased genetic gains, resulting in higher crop performance and yield. However in many cases, the underlying alleles and genomic regions that have underpinned this success remain unknown. This is due, in part, to the difficulty in generating sufficient phenotypic data on large numbers of historical varieties to allow such analyses to be undertaken. Here we demonstrate the ability to circumvent such bottlenecks by identifying genomic regions selected over 100 years of crop breeding using the age of a variety as a surrogate for yield. Using ‘environmental genome-wide association scans’ (EnvGWAS) on variety age in two of the world’s most important crops, wheat and barley, we found strong signals of selection across the genomes of our target crops. EnvGWAS identified 16 genomic regions in barley and 10 in wheat with contrasting patterns between spring and winter types of the two crops. To further examine changes in genome structure in wheat and barley over the past century, we used the same genotypic data to derive eigenvectors for deployment in EigenGWAS. This resulted in the detection of seven major chromosomal introgressions that contributed to adaptation in wheat. The deployment of both EigenGWAS and EnvGWAS based on variety age avoids costly phenotyping and will facilitate the identification of genomic tracts that have been under selection during plant breeding in underutilized historical cultivar collections. Our results not only demonstrate the potential of using historical cultivar collections coupled with genomic data to identify chromosomal regions that have been under selection but to also guide future plant breeding strategies to maximise the rate of genetic gain and adaptation in crop improvement programs.Significance Statement100 years of plant breeding have greatly improved crop adaptation, resilience, and productivity. Generating the trait data required for these studies is prohibitively expensive and can be impossible on large historical traits. This study reports using variety age and eigenvectors of the genomic relationship matrix as surrogate traits in GWAS to locate the genomic regions that have undergone selection during varietal development in wheat and barley. In several cases these were confirmed as associated with yield and other selected traits. The success and the simplicity of the approach means it can easily be extended to other crops with a recent recorded history of plant breeding and available genomic resources.



2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 58-69
Author(s):  
Marlene Kim

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the United States face problems of discrimination, the glass ceiling, and very high long-term unemployment rates. As a diverse population, although some Asian Americans are more successful than average, others, like those from Southeast Asia and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs), work in low-paying jobs and suffer from high poverty rates, high unemployment rates, and low earnings. Collecting more detailed and additional data from employers, oversampling AAPIs in current data sets, making administrative data available to researchers, providing more resources for research on AAPIs, and enforcing nondiscrimination laws and affirmative action mandates would assist this population.



2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 706
Author(s):  
Mei DENG ◽  
Yuan-Jiang HE ◽  
Lu-Lu GOU ◽  
Fang-Jie YAO ◽  
Jian LI ◽  
...  


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Brbaklić ◽  
Dragana Trkulja ◽  
Sanja Mikić ◽  
Milan Mirosavljević ◽  
Vojislava Momčilović ◽  
...  

Determination of genetic diversity and population structure of breeding material is an important prerequisite for discovering novel and valuable alleles aimed at crop improvement. This study’s main objective was to characterize genetic diversity and population structure of a collection representing a 40-year long historical period of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding, using microsatellites, pedigree, and phenotypic data. The set of 90 barley genotypes was phenotyped during three growing seasons and genotyped with 338 polymorphic alleles. The indicators of genetic diversity showed differentiation changes throughout the breeding periods. The population structure discriminated the breeding material into three distinctive groups. The principal coordinate analysis grouped the genotypes according to their growth habit and row type. An analysis of phenotypic variance (ANOVA) showed that almost all investigated traits varied significantly between row types, seasons, and breeding periods. A positive effect on yield progress during the 40-year long breeding period could be partly attributed to breeding for shorter plants, which reduced lodging and thus provided higher yield stability. The breeding material revealed a considerable diversity level based on microsatellite and phenotypic data without a tendency of genetic erosion throughout the breeding history and implied dynamic changes in genetic backgrounds, providing a great gene pool suitable for further barley improvement.



Author(s):  
Rajanikanth Govindarajulu ◽  
Ashley N Hostetler ◽  
Yuguo Xiao ◽  
Srinivasa R Chaluvadi ◽  
Margarita Mauro-Herrera ◽  
...  

Abstract Phenotypes such as branching, photoperiod sensitivity, and height were modified during plant domestication and crop improvement. Here, we perform quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of these and other agronomic traits in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from an interspecific cross between Sorghum propinquum and Sorghum bicolor inbred Tx7000. Using low-coverage Illumina sequencing and a bin-mapping approach, we generated ∼1920 bin markers spanning ∼875 cM. Phenotyping data were collected and analyzed from two field locations and one greenhouse experiment for six agronomic traits, thereby identifying a total of 30 QTL. Many of these QTL were penetrant across environments and co-mapped with major QTL identified in other studies. Other QTL uncovered new genomic regions associated with these traits, and some of these were environment-specific in their action. To further dissect the genetic underpinnings of tillering, we complemented QTL analysis with transcriptomics, identifying 6189 genes that were differentially expressed during tiller bud elongation. We identified genes such as Dormancy Associated Protein 1 (DRM1) in addition to various transcription factors that are differentially expressed in comparisons of dormant to elongating tiller buds and lie within tillering QTL, suggesting that these genes are key regulators of tiller elongation in sorghum. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of this RIL population in detecting domestication and improvement-associated genes in sorghum, thus providing a valuable resource for genetic investigation and improvement to the sorghum community.



Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 564
Author(s):  
Gaetano Distefano

The main challenges for tree crop improvement are linked to the sustainable development of agro-ecological habitats, improving the adaptability to limiting environmental factors and resistance to biotic stresses or promoting novel genotypes with improved agronomic traits [...]



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