Efficient identification of QTL for agronomic traits in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) using RTM- and MLM-GWAS

Theor Appl Genet. 2024 Jan 11;137(1):18. doi: 10.1007/s00122-023-04522-8.ABSTRACTEleven QTLs for agronomic traits were identified by RTM- and MLM-GWAS, putative candidate genes were predicted and two markers for grain weight were developed and validated. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica), the second most cultivated millet crop after pearl millet, is an important grain crop in arid regions. Seven agronomic traits of 408 diverse foxtail millet accessions from 15 provinces in China were evaluated in three environments. They were clustered into two divergent groups based on genotypic data using ADMIXTURE, which was highly consistent with their geographical distribution. Two models for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), namely restricted two-stage multi-locus multi-allele (RTM)-GWAS and mixed linear model (MLM)-GWAS, were used to dissect the genetic architecture of the agronomic traits based on 13,723 SNPs. Eleven quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for seven traits were identified using two models (RTM- and MLM-GWAS). Among them, five were considered stable QTLs that were identified in at least two environments using MLM-GWAS. One putative candidate gene (SETIT_006045mg, Chr4: 744,701-746,852) that can enhance grain weight per panicle was identified based on homologous gene comparison and gene expression analysis and was validated by haplotype analysis of 330 accessions with high-depth (10×) resequencing data (unpublished). In addition, homologous gene comparison and haplotype an...
Source: TAG. Theoretical and Applied Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Source Type: research