Meta-QTL analysis for mining key genes associated with seed oil content in maize.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Maize seed oil plays a significant role in human nutrition, animal feed, and bioenergy applications. Despite extensive quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies conducted on this trait, the broad confidence intervals of the identified QTLs have made it difficult to precisely pinpoint candidate genes, thereby limiting their practical application in high-oil maize breeding.

Results

In this study, we integrated QTL data related to maize seed oil content reported over the past two decades, compiling a total of 339 QTLs from 31 studies. By integrating high-density genetic linkage maps, 72 oil content-related meta-QTLs (MQTLs) were identified. Compared with previous studies on seed oil content QTLs, the average confidence interval of the MQTLs was reduced by 5.89-fold. Thro

SUBMITTER: Zhao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12574132 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature