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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Poplarville, Mississippi » Southern Horticultural Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388907
Research Project: Blueberry and Woody Ornamental Plant Improvement in the Southeast United States

Location: Southern Horticultural Research Unit

Title: Genome-wide identification of loci associated with phenology-related traits and their adaptive variations in a highbush blueberry collection

Author
item NAGASAKA, KYOKA - Kyoto University
item NISHIYAMA, SOICHIRO - Kyoto University
item FUJIKAWA, MAO - Kyoto University
item YAMANE, HISAYO - Kyoto University
item SHIRASAWA, KENTA - Kazusa Dna Research Institute
item Babiker, Ebrahiem
item TAO, RYUTARO - Kyoto University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2021
Publication Date: 1/21/2022
Citation: Nagasaka, K., Nishiyama, S., Fujikawa, M., Yamane, H., Shirasawa, K., Babiker, E.M., Tao, R. 2022. Genome-wide identification of loci associated with phenology-related traits and their adaptive variations in a highbush blueberry collection. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.793679.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.793679

Interpretive Summary: The chilling requirement is the total number of hours ( at 45 degrees F or below) required during the winter for a particular cultivar to induce the blueberry plant to break dormancy and produce flowers. Genetic variation in phenological traits such as chilling requirement is key to expanding production areas of blueberry. In this study, we employed a collection of diverse Southern highbush blueberry accessions and performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for five phenology-related traits using four GWAS models. In this study, a genomic region associated with chilling requirement was detected on Chromosome 4. This result provide basic insights into the diversity of phenological traits in blueberry and the genetic establishment of current high-bush cultivar groups.

Technical Abstract: Genetic variation in phenological traits is key to expanding production areas of crops. Southern highbush blueberry (SHB) is a blueberry cultivar group adapted to warmer climates and has been developed by multiple interspecific hybridizations between elite Northern highbush blueberry (NHB) (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and low-chill Vaccinium species native to the southern United States. In this study, we employed a collection of diverse SHB accessions and performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for five phenology-related traits using four GWAS models. Phenology-related traits showed higher heritability and larger correlation coefficients between year replications, which resulted in the detection of robust phenotype-genotype association peaks. Notably, a single association peak for the chilling requirement was detected on Chromosome 4 based on multiple GWAS models. Comparison of genotypes at the GWAS peaks between NHB and SHB revealed the putative introgression of low-chill and late-flowering alleles into the highbush genetic pool. Our results provide basic insights into the diversity of phenological traits in blueberry and the genetic establishment of current highbush cultivar groups.