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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Improvement Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410124
Research Project: Improvement of Disease and Pest Resistance in Barley, Durum, Oat, and Wheat Using Genetics and Genomics

Location: Cereal Crops Improvement Research

Title: Genome-wide association study unravel the genetic basis of seedling heat stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Author
item GUDI, SANTOSH - North Dakota State University
item SINGH, JATINDER - North Dakota State University
item GILL, HARSIMARDDEP - South Dakota State University
item SEHGAL, SUNISH - South Dakota State University
item UPINDER, GILL - North Dakota State University
item Gupta, Rajeev

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2023
Publication Date: 1/12/2024
Citation: Gudi, S., Singh, J., Gill, H.S., Sehgal, S., Upinder, G., Gupta, R. 2024. Genome-wide association study unravel the genetic basis of seedling heat stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)(abstract). Poster No. PE0414.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Changing climatic conditions are affecting the production potential of globally important food crops. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the temperate season crop whose production is severely affected by increasing temperature. Breeding of heat resilient wheat cultivars is one of the important option to circumvent the yield losses caused by changing climates. In the present study, we investigated the seedling response to high-temperature stress in the exome-sequenced panel consisting of 216 hexaploid wheat accessions belonging to spring type growth habit. Heat stress significantly reduced all the seedling traits with the maximum effect on root length (RL) (85.6%) and the minimum effect on coleoptile length (CL) (15.44%). However, we observed the significant increase in RN (20%) under heat stress. Multi-locus genome-wide association analysis using 302,524 filtered SNPs identified 23 marker-trait associations (MTAs) under controlled (7) and heat stress (16) conditions. Among the seven MTAs identified under controlled condition, two, three, and two MTAs were associated with shoot length (SL), RN, and root fresh weight (RFW), respectively. Similarly, among 16 MTAs identified under stress condition one, eight, and seven MTAs were associated with shoot fresh weight (SFW), RL, and RFW, respectively. Furthermore, the candidate gene (CG) analysis from 16 MTAs associated with heat stress identified 251 unique gene models, of which 35 genes were differentially expressed (DEGs) under heat stress condition. Functional characterization of DEGs identified 13 genes with functional relevance to heat stress. These genes encoded for the protein kinase domain, fatty acid hydroxylase, pectinacetylesterase, UDP-glucosyltransferase, pyrophosphate-energized proton pump, etc. MTAs/CGs identified in the present study can be employed in marker-assisted selection to transfer potential genomic regions associated with enhanced heat stress tolerance to develop heat resilient, high-yielding wheat cultivars.