Crop Germplasm Resources Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kemaoxi Street 303, Gongzhuling, 136100, Jilin Province, China.
College of Agronomy, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 19;11(1):1764. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-80391-1.
Maize is China's largest grain crop. Mechanical grain harvesting is the key technology in maize production, and the kernel moisture concentration (KMC) is the main controlling factor in mechanical maize harvesting in China. The kernel dehydration rate (KDR) is closely related to the KMC. Thus, it is important to conduct genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the KMC and KDR in maize, detect relevant quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs), and mine relevant candidate genes. Here, 132 maize inbred lines were used to measure the KMC every 5 days from 10 to 40 days after pollination (DAP) in order to calculate the KDR. These lines were genotyped using a maize 55K single-nucleotide polymorphism array. QTNs for the KMC and KDR were detected based on five methods (mrMLM, FASTmrMLM, FASTmrEMMA, pLARmEB, and ISIS EM-BLASSO) in the package mrMLM. A total of 334 significant QTNs were found for both the KMC and KDR, including 175 QTNs unique to the KMC and 178 QTNs unique to the KDR; 116 and 58 QTNs were detected among the 334 QTNs by two and more than two methods, respectively; and 9 and 5 QTNs among 58 QTNs were detected in 2 and 3 years, respectively. A significant enrichment in cellular component was revealed by Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of candidate genes in the intervals adjacent to the 14 QTNs and this category contained five genes. The information provided in this study may be useful for further mining of genes associated with the KMC and KDR in maize.
玉米是中国最大的粮食作物。机械谷物收获是玉米生产的关键技术，而籽粒水分浓度（KMC）是中国机械玉米收获的主要控制因素。籽粒脱水率（KDR）与 KMC 密切相关。因此，对玉米 KMC 和 KDR 进行全基因组关联研究（GWAS），检测相关数量性状核苷酸（QTN），挖掘相关候选基因非常重要。在这里，使用 132 个玉米自交系在授粉后 10 至 40 天（DAP）每隔 5 天测量 KMC，以计算 KDR。这些系使用玉米 55K 单核苷酸多态性阵列进行基因型分型。基于 mrMLM 包中的五种方法（mrMLM、FASTmrMLM、FASTmrEMMA、pLARmEB 和 ISIS EM-BLASSO）检测 KMC 和 KDR 的 QTN。共发现 334 个 KMC 和 KDR 的显著 QTN，包括 175 个 KMC 特有的 QTN 和 178 个 KDR 特有的 QTN；在 334 个 QTN 中，有 116 个和 58 个 QTN 分别通过两种和两种以上方法检测到；在 58 个 QTN 中，有 9 个和 5 个 QTN 分别在两年和三年中检测到。候选基因在 14 个 QTN 相邻区间的基因本体富集分析显示，细胞成分显著富集，该类别包含五个基因。本研究提供的信息可能有助于进一步挖掘与玉米 KMC 和 KDR 相关的基因。
