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Title: Genome-wide association mapping of fusarium head blight resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using genotyping by sequencing

Author
item ARRUDA, MARCIO - University Of Illinois
item BROWN, PAT - University Of Illinois
item KRILL, ALLISON - University Of Illinois
item Brown-Guedira, Gina
item THURBER, CARRIE - Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
item FORESMAN, BRADLEY - University Of Illinois
item KOLB, FRED - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: The Plant Genome
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2015
Publication Date: 2/5/2016
Citation: Arruda, M., Brown, P., Krill, A., Brown Guedira, G.L., Thurber, C., Foresman, B., Kolb, F. 2016. Genome-wide association mapping of fusarium head blight resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using genotyping by sequencing. The Plant Genome. 9(1):1-14.

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide. Growing resistant cultivars is one of the best methods of disease control. However, host resistance displays complex genetic control. A study was performed on 273 winter wheat breeding lines from the mid-western and eastern regions of the U.S.A. to identify chromosomal regions having genes associated with FHB resistance. DNA sequencing technology was used to identify 19,992 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), located on all the 21 chromosomes of wheat. Ten significant associations of DNA markers with disease resistance were detected on seven different wheat chromosomes. Although combinations of favorable genes resulted in lower levels of disease, lines carrying multiple beneficial alleles were in very low frequency for most traits. The DNA markers identified can be used to construct wheat cultivars carrying multiple resistance genes and improved levels of FHB resistance.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide and host resistance displays complex genetic control. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on 273 winter wheat breeding lines from the mid-western and eastern regions of the US to identify chromosomal regions associated with FHB resistance. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to identify 19,992 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), covering all 21 wheat chromosomes. Marker-trait associations were performed with different statistical models, the most adequate being a compressed mixed linear model (cMLM) controlling for relatedness and population structure. Ten significant SNP-trait associations were detected on chromosomes 4A, 6A, 7A, 1D, 4D, 7D, and multiple SNPs were associated with Fhb-1 on chromosome 3B. The genomic region on chromosome 6A appears to be new, as no other study reported QTL for that region. In addition, combination of favorable alleles of these SNPs resulted in lower levels of disease; however, lines carrying multiple beneficial alleles were in very low frequency for most traits. Predicted protein for identified SNPs included receptor-like kinase, reverse transcriptase, retrotransposon, and others, indicating a complex network of genes is involved in FHB resistance.