Genome-wide association study of traits in sacred lotus uncovers MITE-associated variants underlying stamen petaloid and petal number variations.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the genetic variants responsible for floral trait diversity is important for the molecular breeding of ornamental flowers. Widely used in water gardening for thousands of years, the sacred lotus exhibits a wide range of diversity in floral organs. Nevertheless, the genetic variations underlying various morphological characteristics in lotus remain largely unclear. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study of sacred lotus for 12 well-recorded ornamental traits. Given a moderate linkage disequilibrium level of 32.9 kb, we successfully identified 149 candidate genes responsible for seven flower traits and plant size variations, including many pleiotropic genes affecting multiple floral-organ-related traits, such as NnKUP2. Notably, we found a 2.75-kb presence-and

SUBMITTER: Gao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9539442 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature