Rapid Identification of Candidate Genes for Seed Weight Using the SLAF-Seq Method in Brassica napus

PLoS One. 2016 Jan 29;11(1):e0147580. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147580. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Seed weight is a critical and direct trait for oilseed crop seed yield. Understanding its genetic mechanism is of great importance for yield improvement in Brassica napus breeding. Two hundred and fifty doubled haploid lines derived by microspore culture were developed from a cross between a large-seed line G-42 and a small-seed line 7-9. According to the 1000-seed weight (TSW) data, the individual DNA of the heaviest 46 lines and the lightest 47 lines were respectively selected to establish two bulked DNA pools. A new high-throughput sequencing technology, Specific Locus Amplified Fragment Sequencing (SLAF-seq), was used to identify candidate genes of TSW in association analysis combined with bulked segregant analysis (BSA). A total of 1,933 high quality polymorphic SLAF markers were developed and 4 associated markers of TSW were procured. A hot region of ~0.58 Mb at nucleotides 25,401,885-25,985,931 on ChrA09 containing 91 candidate genes was identified as tightly associated with the TSW trait. From annotation information, four genes (GSBRNA2T00037136001, GSBRNA2T00037157001, GSBRNA2T00037129001 and GSBRNA2T00069389001) might be interesting candidate genes that are highly related to seed weight.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Brassica napus / anatomy & histology
  • Brassica napus / genetics*
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Chromosomes, Plant / chemistry*
  • Crosses, Genetic
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Gene Ontology
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Genetic Markers
  • Haploidy
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Breeding
  • Quantitative Trait Loci
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable*
  • Seeds / anatomy & histology
  • Seeds / genetics*

Substances

  • Genetic Markers

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31371664 and 31470088), the Scientific and Technological Project of Wuhan City (grant no. 2013020501010174) and the National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant (grant no. 1610172012001). WHW received all of the funding. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.