Plant height is a key agricultural trait for lodging resistance in maize. To explore key genes regulating plant height, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using a large population of 1149 inbred lines. Plant height (PH), ear height (EH), and ear height coefficient (EH/PH) in this population followed a standard normal distribution, with heritability of 86%, 85%, and 75%, respectively. The GWAS identified two significant SNPs (Chr3:163963128 and Chr3:163963155) associated with all three traits. Within a 100-kb genomic region spanning upstream and downstream of the two SNPs, four genes were examined by real-time PCR, and among them, ZmPH1 showed a significant difference between taller lines and shorter lines. ZmPH1 encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat protein. ZmPH1 was also found to colocalize with a mapped PH QTL (qPH3-1) and an EH QTL (qEH3-1) identified in our F2 mapping population. The inbred lines were classified into Hap1 and Hap2 based on the genotype of ZmPH1. Hap1 lines have significantly taller PH and EH than Hap2 lines. A KASP marker designed based on one SNP successfully distinguished tall and short inbred lines after PCR amplification. Subcellular localization analysis showed that ZmPH1 is a chloroplast-localized protein. This study presents a potential PPR gene involved in the regulation of plant height and provides potential genetic resources for maize plant height breeding.
Xiaobo Zhu, Yanyan Wang, Shiyan Liu et al.· Plant physiology and biochem...· 0 citations
Introduction Commercial spring maize germplasm in northern China has been shaped by five decades of intensive breeding and the continual incorporation of elite domestic and introduced germplasm, but its genetic diversity, pedigree structure, and genomic signatures of selection remain incompletely characterized. Methods We re-sequenced 108 representative inbred lines from China’s commercial spring maize germplasm and combined them with 14 previously published key inbred lines. Population structure, genetic diversity, identity-by-descent, selective sweeps, and haplotype-trait associations were analyzed across seven heterotic groups. Results The 122 inbred lines represented nearly five decades of elite maize germplasm in northern China. Modern breeding materials showed reduced nucleotide diversity, with π decreasing from 1.58 × 10−3 to 1.34 × 10−3, and an increased deleterious mutation burden. We identified 275 Mb of high-impact IBD regions shared among elite germplasm, containing genes associated with flowering, plant architecture, photosynthesis, and grain quality. Selective sweep analyses detected genomic regions associated with agronomic traits including grain quality and floral organ development. Haplotype analyses further revealed natural alleles related to tassel structure, with differential allele frequencies between the SS and TSPT heterotic groups. Discussion These findings provide a genomic resource for northern Chinese commercial maize germplasm and support future heterotic group optimization, marker-assisted breeding, and genomic selection.
Yuhan Song, Hongsen Nong, Zhenyang Liao et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
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