scholarly journals Validation of a novel associative transcriptomics pipeline in Brassica oleracea: identifying candidates for vernalisation response

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Woodhouse ◽  
Zhesi He ◽  
Hugh Woolfenden ◽  
Burkhard Steuernagel ◽  
Wilfried Haerty ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Associative transcriptomics has been used extensively in Brassica napus to enable the rapid identification of markers correlated with traits of interest. However, within the important vegetable crop species, Brassica oleracea, the use of associative transcriptomics has been limited due to a lack of fixed genetic resources and the difficulties in generating material due to self-incompatibility. Within Brassica vegetables, the harvestable product can be vegetative or floral tissues and therefore synchronisation of the floral transition is an important goal for growers and breeders. Vernalisation is known to be a key determinant of the floral transition, yet how different vernalisation treatments influence flowering in B. oleracea is not well understood. Results Here, we present results from phenotyping a diverse set of 69 B. oleracea accessions for heading and flowering traits under different environmental conditions. We developed a new associative transcriptomics pipeline, and inferred and validated a population structure, for the phenotyped accessions. A genome-wide association study identified miR172D as a candidate for the vernalisation response. Gene expression marker association identified variation in expression of BoFLC.C2 as a further candidate for vernalisation response. Conclusions This study describes a new pipeline for performing associative transcriptomics studies in B. oleracea. Using flowering time as an example trait, it provides insights into the genetic basis of vernalisation response in B. oleracea through associative transcriptomics and confirms its characterisation as a complex G x E trait. Candidate leads were identified in miR172D and BoFLC.C2. These results could facilitate marker-based breeding efforts to produce B. oleracea lines with more synchronous heading dates, potentially leading to improved yields.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Woodhouse ◽  
Zhesi He ◽  
Hugh Woolfenden ◽  
Burkhard Steuernagel ◽  
Wilfried Haerty ◽  
...  

AbstractAssociative transcriptomics has been used extensively in Brassica napus to enable the rapid identification of markers correlated with traits of interest. However, within the important vegetable crop species, Brassica oleracea, the use of associative transcriptomics has been limited due to a lack of fixed genetic resources and the difficulties in generating material due to self-incompatibility. Within Brassica vegetables, the harvestable product can be vegetative or floral tissues and therefore synchronisation of the floral transition is an important goal for growers and breeders. Vernalisation is known to be a key determinant of the floral transition, yet how different vernalisation treatments influence flowering in B. oleracea is not well understood.Here, we present results from phenotyping a diverse set of 69 B. oleracea accessions for heading and flowering traits under different environmental conditions. We developed a new associative transcriptomics pipeline, and inferred and validated a population structure, for the phenotyped accessions. A genome-wide association study identified miR172D as a candidate for the vernalisation response. Gene expression marker association identified variation in expression of BoFLC.C2 as a further candidate for vernalisation response.This study provides insights into the genetic basis of vernalisation response in B. oleracea through associative transcriptomics and confirms its characterisation as a complex G x E trait. Candidate leads were identified in miR172D and BoFLC.C2. These results could facilitate marker-based breeding efforts to produce B. oleracea lines with more synchronous heading dates, potentially leading to improved yields.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 2890-2905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Vlachos ◽  
Robert Kofler

Abstract Evolve and resequence (E&R) studies are frequently used to dissect the genetic basis of quantitative traits. By subjecting a population to truncating selection for several generations and estimating the allele frequency differences between selected and nonselected populations using next-generation sequencing (NGS), the loci contributing to the selected trait may be identified. The role of different parameters, such as, the population size or the number of replicate populations has been examined in previous works. However, the influence of the selection regime, that is the strength of truncating selection during the experiment, remains little explored. Using whole genome, individual based forward simulations of E&R studies, we found that the power to identify the causative alleles may be maximized by gradually increasing the strength of truncating selection during the experiment. Notably, such an optimal selection regime comes at no or little additional cost in terms of sequencing effort and experimental time. Interestingly, we also found that a selection regime which optimizes the power to identify the causative loci is not necessarily identical to a regime that maximizes the phenotypic response. Finally, our simulations suggest that an E&R study with an optimized selection regime may have a higher power to identify the genetic basis of quantitative traits than a genome-wide association study, highlighting that E&R is a powerful approach for finding the loci underlying complex traits.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1722
Author(s):  
Byeong Yong Jeong ◽  
Yoonjung Lee ◽  
Yebin Kwon ◽  
Jee Hye Kim ◽  
Tae-Ho Ham ◽  
...  

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was used to investigate the genetic basis of chilling tolerance in a collection of 117 rice accessions, including 26 Korean landraces and 29 weedy rices, at the reproductive stage. To assess chilling tolerance at the early young microspore stage, plants were treated at 12 °C for 5 days, and tolerance was evaluated using seed set fertility. GWAS, together with principal component analysis and kinship matrix analysis, revealed five quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with chilling tolerance on chromosomes 3, 6, and 7. The percentage of phenotypic variation explained by the QTLs was 11–19%. The genomic region underlying the QTL on chromosome 3 overlapped with a previously reported QTL associated with spikelet fertility. Subsequent bioinformatic and haplotype analyses suggested three candidate chilling-tolerance genes within the QTL linkage disequilibrium block: Os03g0305700, encoding a protein similar to peptide chain release factor 2; Os06g0495700, encoding a beta tubulin, autoregulation binding-site-domain-containing protein; and Os07g0137800, encoding a protein kinase, core-domain-containing protein. Further analysis of the detected QTLs and the candidate chilling-tolerance genes will facilitate strategies for developing chilling-tolerant rice cultivars in breeding programs.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhu ◽  
Qinghe Li ◽  
Ranran Liu ◽  
Maiqing Zheng ◽  
Jie Wen ◽  
...  

Presently, the heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H/L) ratio is being studied extensively as a disease resistance trait. Through intricate mechanisms to identify and destroy pathogenic microorganisms, heterophils play a pivotal role in the immune defense systems of avian species. To reveal the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms affecting the H/L ratio, phenotypic and H/L data from 1650 white feather chicken broilers were used in performing a genome-wide association study. A self-developed, chicken-specific 55K chip was used for heterophils, lymphocytes, and H/L classification, according to individual genomic DNA profiles. We identified five significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) when the genome-wide significance threshold was set to 5% (p < 2.42 × 10−6). A total of 15 SNPs obtained seemingly significant levels (p < 4.84 × 10−5). Gene annotation indicated that CARD11 (Caspase recruitment domain family member 11), BRIX1 (Biogenesis of ribosomes BRX1), and BANP (BTG3 associated nuclear protein) play a role in H/L-associated cell regulation and potentially constitute candidate gene regions for cellular functions dependent on H/L ratios. These results lay the foundation for revealing the genetic basis of disease resistance and future marker-assisted selection for disease resistance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1272-1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uma Vaidyanathan ◽  
Stephen M. Malone ◽  
Jennifer M. Donnelly ◽  
Micah A. Hammer ◽  
Michael B. Miller ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 680-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Perez-Andreu ◽  
Kathryn G. Roberts ◽  
Heng Xu ◽  
Colton Smith ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
...  

Key Points In this first ALL GWAS in AYAs, we determined that inherited GATA3 variants strongly influence ALL susceptibility in this age group. These findings revealed similarities and differences in the genetic basis of ALL susceptibility between young children and AYAs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 2312-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Divaris ◽  
K. L. Monda ◽  
K. E. North ◽  
A. F. Olshan ◽  
L. M. Reynolds ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-236
Author(s):  
Ruifang Li-Gao ◽  
Renée de Mutsert ◽  
Frits R. Rosendaal ◽  
Ko Willems van Dijk ◽  
Dennis O. Mook-Kanamori

In 2015, a genome-wide association study described 59 independent signals that showed strong associations with 85 fasting metabolite concentrations as measured by the Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ p150 kit. However, the human body resides in a nonfasting state for the greater part of the day, and the genetic basis of postprandial metabolite concentrations remains largely unknown. We systematically examined these previously identified genetic associations in postprandial metabolite concentrations after a mixed meal. Of these 85 metabolites, 23 were identified with significant changes after the meal, for which 38 gene-metabolite associations were analyzed. Of these 38 associations, 31 gene-metabolite associations were replicated with postprandial metabolite concentrations. These data indicate that the genetics of fasting and postprandial metabolite levels are significantly overlapping.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1225-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Malone ◽  
Scott J. Burwell ◽  
Uma Vaidyanathan ◽  
Michael B. Miller ◽  
Matt MCGUE ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Hassan S. Dashti ◽  
Iyas Daghlas ◽  
Jacqueline M. Lane ◽  
Yunru Huang ◽  
Miriam S. Udler ◽  
...  

AbstractDaytime napping is a common, heritable behavior, but its genetic basis and causal relationship with cardiometabolic health remains unclear. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study of self-reported daytime napping in the UK Biobank (n=452,633) and identified 123 loci of which 60 replicated in 23andMe research participants (n=541,333). Findings included missense variants in established drug targets (HCRTR1, HCRTR2), genes with roles in arousal (TRPC6, PNOC), and genes suggesting an obesity-hypersomnolence pathway (PNOC, PATJ). Signals were concordant with accelerometer-measured daytime inactivity duration and 33 signals colocalized with signals for other sleep phenotypes. Cluster analysis identified 3 clusters suggesting distinct nap-promoting mechanisms with heterogeneous associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Mendelian randomization showed potential causal links between more frequent daytime napping and higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and waist circumference.


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