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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Plant Physiology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #381521
Research Project: Enhancing Abiotic Stress Tolerance of Cotton, Oilseeds, and Other Industrial and Biofuel Crops Using High Throughput Phenotyping and Other Genetic Approaches

Location: Plant Physiology and Genetics Research

Title: Discovering candidate genes related to flowering time in the spring panel of Camelina sativa

Author
item Luo, Lily
item FAHLGREN, NOAH - Danforth Plant Science Center
item KUTCHAN, TONI - Danforth Plant Science Center
item SCHACHTMAN, DANIEL - University Of Nebraska
item GE, YUFENG - University Of Nebraska
item Gesch, Russell - Russ
item GEORGE, SHEEJA - University Of Florida
item Dyer, John
item Abdel-Haleem, Hussein

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/25/2021
Publication Date: 9/30/2021
Citation: Luo, L.L., Fahlgren, N., Kutchan, T., Schachtman, D.P., Ge, Y., Gesch, R.W., George, S., Dyer, J.M., Abdel-Haleem, H.A. 2021. Discovering candidate genes related to flowering time in the spring panel of Camelina sativa. Industrial Crops and Products. 173. Article 114104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.114104.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.114104

Interpretive Summary: Flowering time is an important factor in the adaptation of Camelina sativa to a wide range of geographies. The current study used a genome-wide association approach to identify 20 putative molecular markers that are colocalized within/near a variety of transcription factors or protein families related to floral development in Camelina sativa. In addition, the predictive ability to use the current set of molecular markers for future genomic selection for early flowering was estimated. This study lay a foundation for future molecular breeding efforts to improve early flowering varieties in camelina.

Technical Abstract: Camelina sativa is a promising oilseed and industrial crop that benefits sustainable food, feed and fuel industries. Early flowering is critical for local adaptation as well as maximizing yield in Camelina sativa. Even though the preliminary data indicated wide variation in flowering time in the spring camelina germplasm, our understanding of underlying genes and their roles in regulating flower development is still limited. The current study combined genotypic data and flowering time from the spring panel, followed by genome-wide association study (GWAS) and whole-genome prediction to identify significant trait-associated markers and evaluate the predictive capability of the entire marker set. The analysis of phenotypic data showed significant genotypic and environmental effects on flowering time. A high heritability of 0.893 in flowering time suggests effectiveness of breeding early flowering camelina varieties. The GWAS analysis identified 20 significant trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that colocalized within/or near a variety of transcription factors (e.g. SUPPRESSOR of PHYA-1/SPA1, BES1-INTERACTING MYC-LIKE 1/BIM1) or protein families containing specific functional domains (e.g. CCCH zinc finger protein family and B3-DNA binding domain containing protein family). These transcription factors were known to interact with key regulatory genes in the four major pathways (i.e. photoperiod, autonomous, vernalization and gibberellic acid pathways) to cooperatively regulate floral transition in arabidopsis. Whole-genome prediction showed a low-to-moderate predictive ability (0.559) to improve early flowering trait in camelina. This study is the first step for future in-depth exploration and genetic improvements of flower development and timing in camelina for breeding.