Genome-wide association studies for yield-related traits in soft red winter wheat grown in Virginia

PLoS One. 2019 Feb 22;14(2):e0208217. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208217. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Grain yield is a trait of paramount importance in the breeding of all cereals. In wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), yield has steadily increased since the Green Revolution, though the current rate of increase is not forecasted to keep pace with demand due to growing world population and increasing affluence. While several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on yield and related component traits have been performed in wheat, the previous lack of a reference genome has made comparisons between studies difficult. In this study, a GWAS for yield and yield-related traits was carried out on a population of 322 soft red winter wheat lines across a total of four rain-fed environments in the state of Virginia using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker data generated by a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) protocol. Two separate mixed linear models were used to identify significant marker-trait associations (MTAs). The first was a single-locus model utilizing a leave-one-chromosome-out approach to estimating kinship. The second was a sub-setting kinship estimation multi-locus method (FarmCPU). The single-locus model identified nine significant MTAs for various yield-related traits, while the FarmCPU model identified 74 significant MTAs. The availability of the wheat reference genome allowed for the description of MTAs in terms of both genetic and physical positions, and enabled more extensive post-GWAS characterization of significant MTAs. The results indicate a number of promising candidate genes contributing to grain yield, including an ortholog of the rice aberrant panicle organization (APO1) protein and a gibberellin oxidase protein (GA2ox-A1) affecting the trait grains per square meter, an ortholog of the Arabidopsis thaliana mother of flowering time and terminal flowering 1 (MFT) gene affecting the trait seeds per square meter, and a B2 heat stress response protein affecting the trait seeds per head.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Crop Production
  • Edible Grain / classification
  • Edible Grain / genetics
  • Genetic Association Studies
  • Genetic Markers
  • Genome-Wide Association Study* / methods
  • Genotype
  • Linkage Disequilibrium
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable*
  • Seeds
  • Triticum / classification
  • Triticum / genetics*
  • Virginia

Substances

  • Genetic Markers

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.7700012

Grants and funding

CHS and GBG received funding from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants 2011-68002-30029 (Tritaceae Coordinated Agricultural Project [TCAP]) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture: https://www.triticeaecap.org/. GBG received funding from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant 2017-67007-25939 (Wheat Coordinated Agricultural Project [WheatCAP]) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture: https://www.triticeaecap.org/. BPW and CAG received funding from Virginia Agricultural Council Grant 617: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/boards-virginia-agricultural-council.shtml, and from the Virginia Small Grains Board (no grant number available): http://www.virginiagrains.com/leadership/va-small-grains-board/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.