Integrating GWAS and Gene Expression Analysis Identifies Candidate Genes for Root Morphology Traits in Maize at the Seedling Stage.

ABSTRACT: Root system plays an essential role in water and nutrient acquisition in plants. Understanding the genetic basis of root development will be beneficial for breeding new cultivars with efficient root system to enhance resource use efficiency in maize. Here, the natural variation of 13 root and 3 shoot traits was evaluated in 297 maize inbred lines and genome-wide association mapping was conducted to identify SNPs associated with target traits. All measured traits exhibited 2.02- to 21.36-fold variations. A total of 34 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for 13 traits, and each individual QTL explained 5.7% to 15.9% of the phenotypic variance. Three pleiotropic QTLs involving five root traits were identified; SNP_2_104416607 was associated with lateral root length (LRL), root surfac

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6826382 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature