322份玉米种质生育期性状的全基因组关联分析OA

[Objective]Maize(Zea mays)growth period refers to the complete growth cycle from sowing to maturity,with key representative traits including tasseling stage,anthesis stage,and silking stage.Identifying key genes regulating maize growth period is of great significance for optimizing maize production and promoting industrial quality and efficiency improvement.[Method]In 2022 and 2023,phenotypic investigations of traits such as tasseling stage,anthesis stage,and silking stage were conducted on 322 maize g ermplasm resources at 2 locations(Dongyang and Haining,Zhejiang Province).Genome-wide association study(GWAS)was performed on the above traits combined with genotypic resequencing data.[Result]The frequency distribution of tasseling stage,anthesis stage,and silking stage traits showed a unimodal curve,consistent with a normal distribution.GWAS results revealed:for the tasseling stage,61,27,281,and 57 SNP-associated loci were identified in the 4 experimental sites(Dongyang and Haining in 2022,Dongyang and Haining in 2023)across 322 maize germplasms,explaining phenotypic variation ranging from 7.26%to 10.68%and distributed on all 10 chromosomes.For the anthesis stage,51,26,424,and 58 related loci were identified,explaining phenotypic variation from 7.25%to 11.80%and mainly distributed on chromosomes 1,2,3,7,8,9,and 10.For the silking stage,47,277,212,and 1 169 related loci were identified,explaining phenotypic variation from 7.25%to 41.26%and mainly distributed on chromosomes 1,2,3,4,7,8,and 10.A total of 49,53,and 24 overlapping SNP loci were detected for tasseling stage,anthesis stage,and silking stage among the 4 experimental sites,respectively.Through comprehensive analysis of SNP locus information,gene annotation,and gene tissue expression profiles,6 key candidate genes for maize growth period were finally screened out.[Conclusion]Tasseling stage,anthesis stage,and silking stage traits showed a normal distribution,and a large number of environment-specific and overlapping SNP loci were identified.Ultimately,6 key candidate genes for growth period were screened out,providing important genetic resources for the genetic improvement of maize growth period and the high-quality development of the industry.[Ch,8 fig.3 tab.44 ref.]