基于全基因组关联分析挖掘玉米叶夹角候选基因OA

[Objective]The leaf angle was an important component factor in plant type of maize,which directly influenced the light energy use efficiency of maize population and planting density,and thereby affecting maize yield.Therefore,identifying the genes regulating leaf angle was of a great significance for breeding the ideal plant types with a high light efficiency in maize.[Method]A genome-wide association study(GWAS)was conducted to identify quantitative trait nucleotides(QTNs)regulating variation of leaf angle by using the phenotypic data of leaf angle of the three leaves below the ear under six different environments over three years and genotypic data from the MaizeSNP50 chip based on the related population from 226 maize inbred lines.[Result]A total of 232 QTNs significantly related to leaf angle were detected.A total of 9 candidate genes were identified from three stable loci of PZE-101123337,PZE-103099600 and PZE-105099105.Among them,the expression level of Zm00001d042308,Zm00001d042309,Zm00001d016188,Zm00001d042306,Zm00001d042303,Zm00001d030732 and Zm00001d042305 was relatively higher in maize leaves but the expression level of Zm00001d042307 and Zm00001d016189 was lower in maize leaves.Based on expression level and functional annotation of candidate genes,it was speculated that Zm00001d042308,Zm00001d042309,Zm00001d030732,Zm00001d042305 and Zm00001d016189 were key candidate genes,encoding 60S ribosomal proteins,F-box proteins,a protein with U-box domain(PUB13),a transcription factor TCP,and a guidance protein,respectively.[Conclusion]Three key genetic loci(PZE-101123337,PZE-103099600 and PZE-105099105)are significantly related to leaf angle in maize.