scholarly journals Genetic Dissection of Seedling Root System Architectural Traits in a Diverse Panel of Hexaploid Wheat through Multi-Locus Genome-Wide Association Mapping for Improving Drought Tolerance

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7188
Author(s):  
T. Danakumara ◽  
Jyoti Kumari ◽  
Amit Kumar Singh ◽  
Subodh Kumar Sinha ◽  
Anjan Kumar Pradhan ◽  
...  

Cultivars with efficient root systems play a major role in enhancing resource use efficiency, particularly water absorption, and thus in drought tolerance. In this study, a diverse wheat association panel of 136 wheat accessions including mini core subset was genotyped using Axiom 35k Breeders’ Array to identify genomic regions associated with seedling stage root architecture and shoot traits using multi-locus genome-wide association studies (ML-GWAS). The association panel revealed a wide variation of 1.5- to 50- fold and were grouped into six clusters based on 15 traits. Six different ML-GWAS models revealed 456 significant quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) for various traits with phenotypic variance in the range of 0.12–38.60%. Of these, 87 QTNs were repeatedly detected by two or more models and were considered reliable genomic regions for the respective traits. Among these QTNs, eleven were associated with average diameter and nine each for second order lateral root number (SOLRN), root volume (RV) and root length density (RLD). A total of eleven genomic regions were pleiotropic and each controlled two or three traits. Some important candidate genes such as Formin homology 1, Ubiquitin-like domain superfamily and ATP-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase were identified from the associated genomic regions. The genomic regions/genes identified in this study could potentially be targeted for improving root traits and drought tolerance in wheat.

Gut ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 1366-1368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caiwang Yan ◽  
Meng Zhu ◽  
Tongtong Huang ◽  
Fei Yu ◽  
Guangfu Jin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dev Paudel ◽  
Rocheteau Dareus ◽  
Julia Rosenwald ◽  
Maria Munoz-Amatriain ◽  
Esteban Rios

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp., diploid, 2n = 22) is a major crop used as a protein source for human consumption as well as a quality feed for livestock. It is drought and heat tolerant and has been bred to develop varieties that are resilient to changing climates. Plant adaptation to new climates and their yield are strongly affected by flowering time. Therefore, understanding the genetic basis of flowering time is critical to advance cowpea breeding. The aim of this study was to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify marker trait associations for flowering time in cowpea using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A total of 367 accessions from a cowpea mini-core collection were evaluated in Ft. Collins, CO in 2019 and 2020, and 292 accessions were evaluated in Citra, FL in 2018. These accessions were genotyped using the Cowpea iSelect Consortium Array that contained 51,128 SNPs. GWAS revealed seven reliable SNPs for flowering time that explained 8-12% of the phenotypic variance. Candidate genes including FT, GI, CRY2, LSH3, UGT87A2, LIF2, and HTA9 that are associated with flowering time were identified for the significant SNP markers. Further efforts to validate these loci will help to understand their role in flowering time in cowpea, and it could facilitate the transfer of some of this knowledge to other closely related legume species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanna Maina ◽  
Abdou Harou ◽  
Falalou Hamidou ◽  
Geoffrey P. Morris

ABSTRACTDrought is a key constraint on plant productivity and threat to food security. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), a global staple food and forage crop, is among the most drought-adapted cereal crops, but its adaptation is not yet well understood. This study aims to better understand the genetic basis of preflowering drought in sorghum and identify loci underlying variation in water use and yield components under drought. A panel of 219 diverse sorghum from West Africa was phenotyped for yield components and water use in an outdoor large-tube lysimeter system under well-watered (WW) versus a preflowering drought water-stressed (WS) treatment. The experimental system was validated based on characteristic drought response in international drought tolerance check genotypes and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that mapped the major height locus at QHT7.1 and Dw3. GWAS further identified marker trait associations (MTAs) for drought-related traits (plant height, flowering time, forage biomass, grain weight, water use) that each explained 7–70% of phenotypic variance. Most MTAs for drought-related traits correspond to loci not previously reported, but some MTA for forage biomass and grain weight under WS co-localized with staygreen post-flowering drought tolerance loci (Stg3a and Stg4). A globally common allele at S7_50055849 is associated with several yield components under drought, suggesting that it tags a major pleiotropic variant controlling assimilate partitioning to grain versus vegetative biomass. The GWAS findings revealed oligogenic variants for drought tolerance in sorghum landraces which could be used as trait predictive markers for improved drought adaptation.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2569
Author(s):  
Sani Ibrahim ◽  
Keqi Li ◽  
Nazir Ahmad ◽  
Lieqiong Kuang ◽  
Salisu Bello Sadau ◽  
...  

Roots are complicated quantitative characteristics that play an essential role in absorbing water and nutrients. To uncover the genetic variations for root-related traits in rapeseed, twelve mature root traits of a Brassica napus association panel were investigated in the field within three environments. All traits showed significant phenotypic variation among genotypes, with heritabilities ranging from 55.18% to 79.68%. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using 20,131 SNPs discovered 172 marker-trait associations, including 103 significant SNPs (−log10 (p) > 4.30) that explained 5.24–20.31% of the phenotypic variance. With the linkage disequilibrium r2 > 0.2, these significant associations were binned into 40 quantitative trait loci (QTL) clusters. Among them, 14 important QTL clusters were discovered in two environments and/or with phenotypic contributions greater than 10%. By analyzing the genomic regions within 100 kb upstream and downstream of the peak SNPs within the 14 loci, 334 annotated genes were found. Among these, 32 genes were potentially associated with root development according to their expression analysis. Furthermore, the protein interaction network using the 334 annotated genes gave nine genes involved in a substantial number of interactions, including a key gene associated with root development, BnaC09g36350D. This research provides the groundwork for deciphering B. napus’ genetic variations and improving its root system architecture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zerka Rashid ◽  
Mehrajuddin Sofi ◽  
Sharanappa I. Harlapur ◽  
Rajashekhar M. Kachapur ◽  
Zahoor Ahmed Dar ◽  
...  

AbstractNorthern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) caused by Setosphaeria turcica, is one of the most important diseases of maize world-wide, and one of the major reasons behind yield losses in maize crop in Asia. In the present investigation, a high-resolution genome wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for NCLB resistance in three association mapping panels, predominantly consisting of tropical lines adapted to different agro-ecologies. These panels were phenotyped for disease severity across three locations with high disease prevalence in India. High density SNPs from Genotyping-by-sequencing were used in GWAS, after controlling for population structure and kinship matrices, based on single locus mixed linear model (MLM). Twenty-two SNPs were identified, that revealed a significant association with NCLB in the three mapping panels. Haplotype regression analysis revealed association of 17 significant haplotypes at FDR ≤ 0.05, with two common haplotypes across three maize panels. Several of the significantly associated SNPs/haplotypes were found to be co-located in chromosomal bins previously reported for major genes like Ht2, Ht3 and Htn1 and QTL for NCLB resistance and multiple foliar disease resistance. Phenotypic variance explained by these significant SNPs/haplotypes ranged from low to moderate, suggesting a breeding strategy of combining multiple resistance alleles towards resistance for NCLB.


Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 418
Author(s):  
Fan Shao ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Mengyuan Ren ◽  
Junying Li ◽  
Haigang Bao ◽  
...  

Dwarfism is a condition defined by low harvest weight in fish, but also results in strange body figures which may have potential for the selective breeding of new ornamental fish strains. The objectives of this study are to reveal the physiological causes of dwarfism and identify the genetic loci controlling this trait in the white sailfin molly. Skeletons of dwarf and normal sailfin mollies were observed by X-ray radioscopy and skeletal staining. Genome-wide association studies based on genotyping-by-sequencing (n = 184) were used to map candidate genomic regions associated with the dwarfism trait. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to determine the expression level of candidate genes in normal (n = 8) and dwarf (n = 8) sailfin mollies. We found that the dwarf sailfin molly has a short and dysplastic spine in comparison to the normal fish. Two regions, located at NW_015112742.1 and NW_015113621.1, were significantly associated with the dwarfism trait. The expression level of three candidate genes, ADAMTS like 1, Larp7 and PPP3CA, were significantly different between the dwarf and normal sailfin mollies in the hepatopancreas, with PPP3CA also showing significant differences in the vertebrae and Larp7 showing significant differences in the muscle. This study identified genomic regions and candidate genes associated with the dwarfism trait in the white sailfin molly and would provide a reference to determine dwarf-causing variations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Vollrath ◽  
Harmeet S. Chawla ◽  
Dima Alnajar ◽  
Iulian Gabur ◽  
HueyTyng Lee ◽  
...  

Blackleg is one of the major fungal diseases in oilseed rape/canola worldwide. Most commercial cultivars carry R gene-mediated qualitative resistances that confer a high level of race-specific protection against Leptosphaeria maculans, the causal fungus of blackleg disease. However, monogenic resistances of this kind can potentially be rapidly overcome by mutations in the pathogen’s avirulence genes. To counteract pathogen adaptation in this evolutionary arms race, there is a tremendous demand for quantitative background resistance to enhance durability and efficacy of blackleg resistance in oilseed rape. In this study, we characterized genomic regions contributing to quantitative L. maculans resistance by genome-wide association studies in a multiparental mapping population derived from six parental elite varieties exhibiting quantitative resistance, which were all crossed to one common susceptible parental elite variety. Resistance was screened using a fungal isolate with no corresponding avirulence (AvrLm) to major R genes present in the parents of the mapping population. Genome-wide association studies revealed eight significantly associated quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosomes A07 and A09, with small effects explaining 3–6% of the phenotypic variance. Unexpectedly, the qualitative blackleg resistance gene Rlm9 was found to be located within a resistance-associated haploblock on chromosome A07. Furthermore, long-range sequence data spanning this haploblock revealed high levels of single-nucleotide and structural variants within the Rlm9 coding sequence among the parents of the mapping population. The results suggest that novel variants of Rlm9 could play a previously unknown role in expression of quantitative disease resistance in oilseed rape.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document