Root Pulling Force Across Drought in Maize Reveals Genotype by Environment Interactions and Candidate Genes.

ABSTRACT: High-throughput, field-based characterization of root systems for hundreds of genotypes in thousands of plots is necessary for breeding and identifying loci underlying variation in root traits and their plasticity. We designed a large-scale sampling of root pulling force, the vertical force required to extract the root system from the soil, in a maize diversity panel under differing irrigation levels for two growing seasons. We then characterized the root system architecture of the extracted root crowns. We found consistent patterns of phenotypic plasticity for root pulling force for a subset of genotypes under differential irrigation, suggesting that root plasticity is predictable. Using genome-wide association analysis, we identified 54 SNPs as statistically significant for six independe

SUBMITTER: Woods P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9051544 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature