scholarly journals Identification of Gene Associated with Sweetness in Corn (Zea mays L.) by Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) and Development of a Functional SNP Marker for Predicting Sweet Corn

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1239
Author(s):  
Vinitchan Ruanjaichon ◽  
Kanogporn Khammona ◽  
Burin Thunnom ◽  
Khundej Suriharn ◽  
Chalong Kerdsri ◽  
...  

Sweetness is an economically important eating quality trait for sweet-corn breeding. To investigate the genetic control of the sweetness trait, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in an association panel consisting of 250 sweet corn and waxy corn inbred and recombinant inbred lines (RILs), together with the genotypes obtained from the high-density 600K maize genotyping single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. GWAS results identified 12 significantly associated SNPs on chromosomes 3, 4, 5, and 7. The most associated SNP, AX_91849634, was found on chromosome 3 with a highly significant p-value of ≤1.53 × 10−14. The candidate gene identified within the linkage disequilibrium (LD) of this marker was shrunken2 (Zm00001d044129; sh2), which encodes ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), a 60 kDa subunit enzyme that affects starch metabolism in the maize endosperm. Several SNP markers specific to variants in sh2 were developed and validated. According to the validation in a set of 81 inbred, RIL, and popular corn varieties, marker Sh2_rs844805326, which was developed on the basis of the SNP at the position 154 of exon 1, was highly efficient in classifying sh2-based sweet corn from other types of corn. This functional marker is extremely useful for marker-assisted breeding in sh2-sweet corn improvement and marketable seed production.

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingxing An ◽  
Jiangwei Xia ◽  
Tianpeng Chang ◽  
Xiaoqiao Wang ◽  
Jian Miao ◽  
...  

Cattle internal organs as accessible raw materials have a long history of being widely used in beef processing, feed and pharmaceutical industry. These traits not only are of economic interest to breeders, but they are intrinsically linked to many valuable traits, such as growth, health, and productivity. Using the Illumina Bovine HD 770K SNP array, we performed a genome-wide association study for heart weight, liver weight, spleen weight, lung weight, and kidney weight in 1,217 Simmental cattle. In our research, 38 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ( P < 1.49 × 10−6) were identified for five internal organ weight traits. These SNPs are within or near 13 genes, and some of them have been reported previously, including NDUFAF4, LCORL, BT.94996, SLIT2, FAM184B, LAP3, BBS12, MECOM, CD300LF, HSD17B3, TLR4, MXI1, and MB21D2. In addition, we detected four haplotype blocks on BTA6 containing 18 significant SNPs associated with spleen weight. Our results offer worthy insights into understanding the genetic mechanisms of internal organs' development, with potential application in breeding programs of Simmental beef cattle.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
PENG MA ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Bowen Luo ◽  
Zhen Chen ◽  
Xuan He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in essential biological processes. However, our understanding of lncRNAs as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and their responses to nitrogen stress is still limited.Results: Here, we surveyed the lncRNAs and miRNAs in maize inbred line P178 leaves and roots at the seedling stage under high-nitrogen and low-nitrogen conditions using lncRNA-Seq and small RNA-Seq. A total of 894 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 38 different miRNAs were identified. Co-expression analysis found two lncRNAs and four lncRNA-targets could competitively combine with ZmmiR159 and ZmmiR164, respectively. To dissect the genetic regulatory by which lncRNAs might enable adaptation to limited nitrogen availability. An association mapping panel containing a high-density single–nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (56,110 SNPs) combined with variable LN resistance-related phenotypes obtained from hydroponics was used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). By combining GWAS and RNA-Seq, 170 differently expressed lncRNAs within the range of significant markers were screened. Moreover, 40 consistently LN-responsive genes including those involved in glutamine biosynthesis and nitrogen acquisition in root were identified. Transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated LNC_002923 could inhabit ZmmiR159-guided cleavage of Zm00001d015521. Conclusions: These lncRNAs containing trait-associated significant SNPs could consider to be related to root development and nutrient utilization. Taken together, the results of our study can provide new insights into the potential regulatory roles of lncRNAs in response to LN stress, and give valuable information for further screening of candidates as well as the improvement of maize regarding LN-responsive resistance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhien Pu ◽  
Xueling Ye ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Zehou Liu ◽  
Bingxin Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Backgrounds: Grain protein concentration (GPC), grain starch concentration (GSC), and wet gluten concentration (WGC) are complex traits that determine nutrient concentration, end-use quality, and yield in wheat. To identify the elite and stable loci or genomic regions conferring high GPC, GSC, and WGC, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) based on a mixed linear model (MLM) was performed using 55K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array in a panel of 236 wheat accessions, including 160 commercial varieties and 76 landraces, derived from Sichuan Province, China. The panel was evaluated for GPC, GSC, and WGC at four different fields. Results: Phenotypic analysis showed variation in GPC, GSC, and WGC among the different genotypes and environments. GWAS identified 12 quantitative trait loci (QTL) (-log10(P) > 2.5) associated with these three quality traits in at least two environments and located on chromosomes 1B, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2D, 3B, 3D, 5D, and 7D; the phenotypic variation explained (PVE) by these QTL ranged from 4.2% to 10.7%. Among these, three, seven, and two QTL are associated with GPC, GSC, and WGC, respectively; five QTL (QGsc.sicau-1BL, QGsc.sicau-1DS, QGsc.sicau-2DL.1, QGsc.sicau-2DL.2, QWgc.sicau-5DL) were defined potentially novel Compared with the previously reported QTLs/genes by linkage or association mapping, 5 QTLs (QGsc.sicau-1BL, QGsc.sicau-1DS, QGsc.sicau-2DL.1, QGsc.sicau-2DL.2, QWgc.sicau-5DL) were potentially novel. Furthermore, 21 presumptive candidate genes, which are involved in the metabolism or transportation of all kinds of carbohydrates, photosynthesis, programmed cell death, the balance of abscisic acid and ethylene, within these potentially novel genomic regions were predicted. Conclusions: This study provided new genetic resources and valuable genetic information of nutritional quality to broaden the genetic background and laid the molecular foundation for marker-assisted selection in wheat quality breeding.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Ma ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Bowen Luo ◽  
Zhen Chen ◽  
Xuan He ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in essential biological processes. However, our understanding of lncRNAs as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and their responses to nitrogen stress is still limited. Results Here, we surveyed the lncRNAs and miRNAs in maize inbred line P178 leaves and roots at the seedling stage under high-nitrogen (HN) and low-nitrogen (LN) conditions using lncRNA-Seq and small RNA-Seq. A total of 894 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 38 different miRNAs were identified. Co-expression analysis found that two lncRNAs and four lncRNA-targets could competitively combine with ZmmiR159 and ZmmiR164, respectively. To dissect the genetic regulatory by which lncRNAs might enable adaptation to limited nitrogen availability, an association mapping panel containing a high-density single–nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (56,110 SNPs) combined with variable LN tolerant-related phenotypes obtained from hydroponics was used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). By combining GWAS and RNA-Seq, 170 differently expressed lncRNAs within the range of significant markers were screened. Moreover, 40 consistently LN-responsive genes including those involved in glutamine biosynthesis and nitrogen acquisition in root were identified. Transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated that LNC_002923 could inhabit ZmmiR159-guided cleavage of Zm00001d015521. Conclusions These lncRNAs containing trait-associated significant SNPs could consider to be related to root development and nutrient utilization. Taken together, the results of our study can provide new insights into the potential regulatory roles of lncRNAs in response to LN stress, and give valuable information for further screening of candidates as well as the improvement of maize resistance to LN stress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengdan Xu ◽  
Shulin Chen ◽  
Xiwen Yang ◽  
Sumei Zhou ◽  
Junsen Wang ◽  
...  

Plant roots are critical for water and nutrient acquisition, environmental adaptation, and yield formation. Herein, 196 wheat accessions from the Huang-Huai Wheat Region of China were collected to investigate six root traits at seedling stage under three growing environments [indoor hydroponic culture (IHC), outdoor hydroponic culture (OHC), and outdoor pot culture (OPC)] and the root dry weight (RDW) under OPC at four growth stages and four yield traits in four environments. Additionally, a genome-wide association study was performed with a Wheat 660K SNP Array. The results showed that the root traits varied most under OPC, followed by those under both OHC and IHC, and root elongation under hydroponic culture was faster than that under pot culture. Root traits under OHC might help predict those under OPC. Moreover, root traits were significantly negatively correlated with grain yield (GY) and grains per spike (GPS), positively correlated with thousand-kernel weight (TKW), and weakly correlated with number of spikes per area (SPA). Twelve stable chromosomal regions associated with the root traits were detected on chromosomes 1D, 2A, 4A, 4B, 5B, 6D, and unmapped markers. Among them, a stable chromosomal interval from 737.85 to 742.00 Mb on chromosome 4A, which regulated total root length (TRL), was identified under three growing environments. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks were used to identify 27 genes related to root development. Three genes TraesCS4A02G484200, TraesCS4A02G484800, TraesCS4A02G493800, and TraesCS4A02G493900, are involved in cell elongation and differentiation and expressed at high levels in root tissues. Another vital co-localization interval on chromosome 5B (397.72–410.88 Mb) was associated with not only RDW under OHC and OPC but also TKW.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Bernard ◽  
Julie Crabier ◽  
Armel S. L. Donkpegan ◽  
Annarita Marrano ◽  
Fabrice Lheureux ◽  
...  

Elucidating the genetic determinants of fruit quality traits in walnut is essential to breed new cultivars meeting the producers and consumers’ needs. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using multi-locus models in a panel of 170 accessions of Juglans regia from the INRAE walnut germplasm collection, previously genotyped using the AxiomTMJ. regia 700K SNP array. We phenotyped the panel for 25 fruit traits related to morphometrics, shape, volume, weight, ease of cracking, and nutritional composition. We found more than 60 marker-trait associations (MTAs), including a highly significant SNP associated with nut face diameter, nut volume and kernel volume on chromosome 14, and 5 additional associations were detected for walnut weight. We proposed several candidate genes involved in nut characteristics, such as a gene coding for a beta-galactosidase linked to several size-related traits and known to be involved in fruit development in other species. We also confirmed associations on chromosomes 5 and 11 with nut suture strength, recently reported by the University of California, Davis. Our results enhance knowledge of the genetic control of important agronomic traits related to fruit quality in walnut, and pave the way for the development of molecular markers for future assisted selection.


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Song Xiaopeng ◽  
Feng Jie ◽  
Cui Zixia ◽  
Zhang Chuanliang ◽  
Sun Daojie

The anther is a crucial organ for the development of the spike in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Long anthers contain large amounts of pollen grains; thus, they are favourable for cross-pollination and increase resilience against adverse environmental conditions. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of anther length in 305 elite wheat lines evaluated during 2013–2015 in two locations and two growing seasons. The mapping panel was genotyped using a high-density Illumina iSelect 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. The GWAS used 18763 SNPs and identified 17 markers associated with anther length in wheat. The loci were mainly distributed across the chromosomes 3A, 3B and 7B. Further studies are required to determine if these are candidate genomic regions of anther length. In addition, anther length had high heritability, and positive correlations between anther length and grain weight per spike were observed.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinghua Li ◽  
Changsheng Nie ◽  
Yuchen Liu ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Xueze Lv ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Salmonella infection is a serious concern in poultry farming because of its impact on both economic loss and human health. Chicks aged 20 days or less are extremely vulnerable to Salmonella pullorum (SP), which causes high mortality. Furthermore, an outbreak of SP infection can result in a considerable number of carriers that become potential transmitters, thus, threatening fellow chickens and offspring. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect potential genomic loci and candidate genes associated with two disease-related traits: death and carrier state. Methods In total, 818 birds were phenotyped for death and carrier state traits through a SP challenge experiment, and genotyped by using a 600 K high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A GWAS using a single-marker linear mixed model was performed with the GEMMA software. RNA-sequencing on spleen samples was carried out for further identification of candidate genes. Results We detected a region that was located between 33.48 and 34.03 Mb on chicken chromosome 4 and was significantly associated with death, with the most significant SNP (rs314483802) accounting for 11.73% of the phenotypic variation. Two candidate genes, FBXW7 and LRBA, were identified as the most promising genes involved in resistance to SP. The expression levels of FBXW7 and LRBA were significantly downregulated after SP infection, which suggests that they may have a role in controlling SP infections. Two other significant loci and related genes (TRAF3 and gga-mir-489) were associated with carrier state, which indicates a different polygenic determinism compared with that of death. In addition, genomic inbreeding coefficients showed no correlation with resistance to SP within each breed in our study. Conclusions The results of this GWAS with a carefully organized Salmonella challenge experiment represent an important milestone in understanding the genetics of infectious disease resistance, offer a theoretical basis for breeding SP-resistant chicken lines using marker-assisted selection, and provide new information for salmonellosis research in humans and other animals.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1602
Author(s):  
Feng Luo ◽  
Zhongyou Pei ◽  
Xiongwei Zhao ◽  
Huifen Liu ◽  
Yiwei Jiang ◽  
...  

Sorghum is an important grain, forage, and bioenergy crop. The objective of this study was to identify genetic signals associated with plant architecture and bioenergy traits in sorghum and sudangrass germplasm through a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Plant height (HT), tiller number (TN), internode number (IN), stem diameter (SD), panicle length (PL), panicle weight (PW), reducing sugar (RS) content, Brix, and protein (PRO) content were assessed in 300 germplasm consisting of grain sorghum, sweet sorghum, sudangrass, sweet sorghum-sweet sorghum recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and sudangrass-sudangrass RILs grown in three different environments over two years. Large variations of phenotypic traits were observed in the population panel. The heritability of traits were all higher than 0.5, ranging from 0.52 (PRO) to 0.92 (HT) with an average of 0.76. The population exhibited three population structures (Q) and minor relative kinship (K), assessed by using 7982 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After controlling Q and K, GWAS identified 24 SNPs that were significantly associated with traits, including three SNPs with HT, four with TN, four with PL, three with Brix, and ten with RS. Of them, seven SNPs were novel signals that were not identified previously, including one for HT, one for TN, one for Brix, and four for RS. The putative candidate genes involved in brassinosteroid regulatory pathway, auxin biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and sugar transport were identified underlying the significant SNPs. Identification of SNP signals and related candidate genes would enrich the current genomic resource for further molecular breeding aimed at improvement of food, feed, and biofuel productions of sorghum.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matheus Baseggio ◽  
Matthew Murray ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Gregory Ziegler ◽  
Nicholas Kaczmar ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite being one of the most consumed vegetables in the United States, the elemental profile of sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is limited in its dietary contributions. To address this through genetic improvement, a genome-wide association study was conducted for the concentrations of 15 elements in fresh kernels of a sweet corn association panel. In concordance with mapping results from mature maize kernels, we detected a probable pleiotropic association of zinc and iron concentrations with nicotianamine synthase5 (nas5), which purportedly encodes an enzyme involved in synthesis of the metal chelator nicotianamine. Additionally, a pervasive association signal was identified for cadmium concentration within a recombination suppressed region on chromosome 2. The likely causal gene underlying this signal was heavy metal ATPase 3 (hma3), whose counterpart in rice, OsHMA3, mediates vacuolar sequestration of cadmium and zinc in roots, whereby regulating zinc homeostasis and cadmium accumulation in grains. Consistent with transgenic studies in rice, we detected an association of hma3 with cadmium but not zinc accumulation in fresh kernels. This finding implies that selection for low cadmium will not affect zinc levels in fresh kernels. Although less resolved association signals were detected for boron, nickel, and calcium, all 15 elements were shown to have moderate predictive abilities via whole- genome prediction. Collectively, these results help improve our genomics-assisted breeding efforts centered on improving the elemental profile of fresh sweet corn kernels.


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