Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in Wheat using Genotyping-by-Sequencing.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important wheat ( L.) diseases worldwide, and host resistance displays complex genetic control. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on 273 winter wheat breeding lines from the midwestern and eastern regions of the United States to identify chromosomal regions associated with FHB resistance. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to identify 19,992 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering all 21 wheat chromosomes. Marker-trait associations were performed with different statistical models, the most appropriate being a compressed mixed linear model (cMLM) controlling for relatedness and population structure. Ten significant SNP-trait associations were detected on chromosomes 4A, 6A, 7A, 1D, 4D, and 7D, and multiple SNPs were associated with on chromosome 3B. Although combination of favorable alleles of these SNPs resulted in lower levels of severity (SEV), incidence (INC), and deoxynivalenol concentration (DON), lines carrying multiple beneficial alleles were in very low frequency for most traits. These SNPs can now be used for creating new breeding lines with different combinations of favorable alleles. This is one of the first GWAS using genomic resources from the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC).

A Consensus Map in Cultivated Hexaploid Oat Reveals Conserved Grass Synteny with Substantial Subgenome Rearrangement.

Hexaploid oat ( L., 2 = 6 = 42) is a member of the Poaceae family and has a large genome (∼12.5 Gb) containing 21 chromosome pairs from three ancestral genomes. Physical rearrangements among parental genomes have hindered the development of linkage maps in this species. The objective of this work was to develop a single high-density consensus linkage map that is representative of the majority of commonly grown oat varieties. Data from a cDNA-derived single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) were collected from the progeny of 12 biparental recombinant inbred line populations derived from 19 parents representing oat germplasm cultivated primarily in North America. Linkage groups from all mapping populations were compared to identify 21 clusters of conserved collinearity. Linkage groups within each cluster were then merged into 21 consensus chromosomes, generating a framework consensus map of 7202 markers spanning 2843 cM. An additional 9678 markers were placed on this map with a lower degree of certainty. Assignment to physical chromosomes with high confidence was made for nine chromosomes. Comparison of homeologous regions among oat chromosomes and matches to orthologous regions of rice ( L.) reveal that the hexaploid oat genome has been highly rearranged relative to its ancestral diploid genomes as a result of frequent translocations among chromosomes. Heterogeneous chromosome rearrangements among populations were also evident, probably accounting for the failure of some linkage groups to match the consensus. This work contributes to a further understanding of the organization and evolution of hexaploid grass genomes.

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus Tolerance in Spring Oat (Avena sativa L.).

Barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) are responsible for the disease barley yellow dwarf (BYD) and affect many cereals including oat (Avena sativa L.). Until recently, the molecular marker technology in oat has not allowed for many marker-trait association studies to determine the genetic mechanisms for tolerance. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on 428 spring oat lines using a recently developed high-density oat single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array as well as a SNP-based consensus map. Marker-trait associations were performed using a Q-K mixed model approach to control for population structure and relatedness. Six significant SNP-trait associations representing two QTL were found on chromosomes 3C (Mrg17) and 18D (Mrg04). This is the first report of BYDV tolerance QTL on chromosome 3C (Mrg17) and 18D (Mrg04). Haplotypes using the two QTL were evaluated and distinct classes for tolerance were identified based on the number of favorable alleles. A large number of lines carrying both favorable alleles were observed in the panel.