GWAS of major agronomic traits in the US southeast soft red winter wheat Abstract uri icon

abstract

  • Grain yield is a complex quantitative trait determined by the agronomic performance of the wheat genotypes. Genetic dissection of these agronomic traits can help us to develop molecular markers that can be used for easier selection and improvement of these traits. In this study, a genome wide association study (GWAS) is carried out for 20 different agronomic traits of wheat that were selected based on their correlation with grain yield. A panel of 230 advanced soft red winter wheat (SRWW) genotypes were included in this study and genotyped as GBS libraries. A total of 27,466 SNPs were selected after marker filtration based on minor allele frequency (MAF >5%) and missing data (<20%). Preliminary analysis of a single year data collected from two different environments identified a total of 95 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) (p< 9.9 x 10-5) related to grain yield, plant height, peduncle length, number of tillers, spike weight, spike length, number of spikelet’s/spikes, flag leaf length, lodging, plant vigor and grain test weight. A major QTL was identified for spike weight on Chromosome 2D that explained 15% of phenotypic variance (PV). Similarly, a major QTL explaining 10% PV was identified for grain yield and spike length on Chromosome 5A and 6B, respectively. Candidate gene analysis for major QTL of spike weight and spike length identified genes controlling growth and development in wheat. Similarly, major QTL for grain yield contained a gene that is highly regulated during the grain development stage. Other QTLs identified in this study will also be described during the presentation. Field experiments is currently being conducted in 2022-2023 to validate these identified QTLs. 

publication date

  • September 2022