Evaluation of the utility of gene expression and metabolic information for genomic prediction in maize.

KEY MESSAGE: Predictive ability derived from gene expression and metabolic information was evaluated using genomic prediction methods based on datasets from a public maize panel. With the rapid development of high throughput biological technologies, information from gene expression and metabolites has received growing attention in plant genetics and breeding. In this study, we evaluated the utility of gene expression and metabolic information for genomic prediction using data obtained from a maize diversity panel. Our results show that, when used as predictor variables, gene expression levels and metabolite abundances provided reasonable predictive abilities relative to those based on genetic markers, although these values were not as large as those with genetic markers. Integrating gene expression levels and metabolite abundances with genetic markers significantly improved predictive abilities in comparison to the benchmark genomic best linear unbiased prediction model using genome-wide markers only. Predictive abilities based on gene expression and metabolites were trait-specific and were affected by the time of measurement and tissue samples as well as the number of genes and metabolites included in the model. In general, our results suggest that, rather than being conventionally used as intermediate phenotypes, gene expression and metabolic information can be used as predictors for genomic prediction and help improve genetic gains for complex traits in breeding programs.

The impact of population structure on genomic prediction in stratified populations.

Impacts of population structure on the evaluation of genomic heritability and prediction were investigated and quantified using high-density markers in diverse panels in rice and maize. Population structure is an important factor affecting estimation of genomic heritability and assessment of genomic prediction in stratified populations. In this study, our first objective was to assess effects of population structure on estimations of genomic heritability using the diversity panels in rice and maize. Results indicate population structure explained 33 and 7.5% of genomic heritability for rice and maize, respectively, depending on traits, with the remaining heritability explained by within-subpopulation variation. Estimates of within-subpopulation heritability were higher than that derived from quantitative trait loci identified in genome-wide association studies, suggesting 65% improvement in genetic gains. The second objective was to evaluate effects of population structure on genomic prediction using cross-validation experiments. When population structure exists in both training and validation sets, correcting for population structure led to a significant decrease in accuracy with genomic prediction. In contrast, when prediction was limited to a specific subpopulation, population structure showed little effect on accuracy and within-subpopulation genetic variance dominated predictions. Finally, effects of genomic heritability on genomic prediction were investigated. Accuracies with genomic prediction increased with genomic heritability in both training and validation sets, with the former showing a slightly greater impact. In summary, our results suggest that the population structure contribution to genomic prediction varies based on prediction strategies, and is also affected by the genetic architectures of traits and populations. In practical breeding, these conclusions may be helpful to better understand and utilize the different genetic resources in genomic prediction.

Accuracy of across-environment genome-wide prediction in maize nested association mapping populations.

Most of previous empirical studies with genome-wide prediction were focused on within-environment prediction based on a single-environment (SE) model. In this study, we evaluated accuracy improvements of across-environment prediction by using genetic and residual covariance across correlated environments. Predictions with a multienvironment (ME) model were evaluated for two corn polygenic leaf structure traits, leaf length and leaf width, based on within-population (WP) and across-population (AP) experiments using a large maize nested association mapping data set consisting of 25 populations of recombinant inbred-lines. To make our study more applicable to plant breeding, two cross-validation schemes were used by evaluating accuracies of (CV1) predicting unobserved phenotypes of untested lines and (CV2) predicting unobserved phenotypes of lines that have been evaluated in some environments but not others. We concluded that (1) genome-wide prediction provided greater prediction accuracies than traditional quantitative trait loci-based prediction in both WP and AP and provided more advantages over quantitative trait loci -based prediction for WP than for AP. (2) Prediction accuracy with ME was significantly greater than that attained by SE in CV1 and CV2, and gains with ME over SE were greater in CV2 than in CV1. These gains were also greater in WP than in AP in both CV1 and CV2. (3) Gains with ME over SE attributed to genetic correlation between environments, with little effect from residual correlation. Impacts of marker density on predictions also were investigated in this study.

Exact sample sizes needed to detect dependence in 2 x 3 tables.

Many medical and biological studies entail classifying a number of observations according to two factors, where one has two and the other three possible categories. This is the case of, for example, genetic association studies of complex traits with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), where the a priori statistical planning, analysis, and interpretation of results are of critical importance. Here, we present methodology to determine the minimum sample size required to detect dependence in 2 x 3 tables based on Fisher's exact test, assuming that neither of the two margins is fixed and only the grand total N is known in advance. We provide the numerical tools necessary to determine these sample sizes for desired power, significance level, and effect size, where only the computational time can be a limitation for extreme parameter values. These programs can be accessed at . This solution of the sample size problem for an exact test will permit experimentalists to plan efficient sampling designs, determine the extent of statistical support for their hypotheses, and gain insight into the repeatability of their results. We apply this solution to the sample size problem to three empirical studies, and discuss the results with specified power and nominal significance levels.

Pleiotropic quantitative trait loci contribute to population divergence in traits associated with life-history variation in Mimulus guttatus.

Evolutionary biologists seek to understand the genetic basis for multivariate phenotypic divergence. We constructed an F2 mapping population (N = 539) between two distinct populations of Mimulus guttatus. We measured 20 floral, vegetative, and life-history characters on parents and F1 and F2 hybrids in a common garden experiment. We employed multitrait composite interval mapping to determine the number, effect, and degree of pleiotropy in quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting divergence in floral, vegetative, and life-history characters. We detected 16 QTL affecting floral traits; 7 affecting vegetative traits; and 5 affecting selected floral, vegetative, and life-history traits. Floral and vegetative traits are clearly polygenic. We detected a few major QTL, with all remaining QTL of small effect. Most detected QTL are pleiotropic, implying that the evolutionary shift between these annual and perennial populations is constrained. We also compared the genetic architecture controlling floral trait divergence both within (our intraspecific study) and between species, on the basis of a previously published analysis of M. guttatus and M. nasutus. Eleven of our 16 floral QTL map to approximately the same location in the interspecific map based on shared, collinear markers, implying that there may be a shared genetic basis for floral divergence within and among species of Mimulus.

Genetic architecture of transcript-level variation in differentiating xylem of a eucalyptus hybrid.

Species diversity may have evolved by differential regulation of a similar set of genes. To analyze and compare the genetic architecture of transcript regulation in different genetic backgrounds of Eucalyptus, microarrays were used to examine variation in mRNA abundance in the differentiating xylem of a E. grandis pseudobackcross population [E. grandis x F(1) hybrid (E. grandis x E. globulus)]. Least-squares mean estimates of transcript levels were generated for 2608 genes in 91 interspecific backcross progeny. The quantitative measurements of variation in transcript abundance for specific genes were mapped as expression QTL (eQTL) in two single-tree genetic linkage maps (F(1) hybrid paternal and E. grandis maternal). EQTL were identified for 1067 genes in the two maps, of which 811 were located in the F(1) hybrid paternal map, and 451 in the E. grandis maternal map. EQTL for 195 genes mapped to both parental maps, the majority of which localized to nonhomologous linkage groups, suggesting trans-regulation by different loci in the two genetic backgrounds. For 821 genes, a single eQTL that explained up to 70% of the transcript-level variation was identified. Hotspots with colocalized eQTL were identified in both maps and typically contained genes associated with specific metabolic and regulatory pathways, suggesting coordinated genetic regulation.