Meta-QTL analysis and candidate genes for quality traits, mineral content, and abiotic-related traits in wild emmer.

Wild emmer (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides) genotypes were studied for their high-nutritional value and good tolerance to various types of stress; for this reason, several QTL (quantitative trait loci) studies have been conducted to find favorable alleles to be introgressed into modern wheat cultivars. Given the complexity of the QTL nature, their interaction with the environment, and other QTLs, a small number of genotypes have been used in wheat breeding programs. Meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis helps to simplify the existing QTL information, identifying stable genomic regions and possible candidate genes for further allele introgression. The study aimed to identify stable QTL regions across different environmental conditions and genetic backgrounds using the QTL information of the past 14 years for different traits in wild emmer based upon 17 independent studies. A total of 41 traits were classified as quality traits (16), mineral composition traits (11), abiotic-related traits (13), and disease-related traits (1). The analysis revealed 852 QTLs distributed across all 14 chromosomes of wild emmer, with an average of 61 QTLs per chromosome. Quality traits had the highest number of QTLs (35%), followed by mineral content (33%), abiotic-related traits (28%), and disease-related traits (4%). Grain protein content (GPC) and thousand kernel weight (TKW) were associated with most of the QTLs detected. A total of 43 MQTLs were identified, simplifying the information, and reducing the average confidence interval (CI) from 22.6 to 4.78 cM. These MQTLs were associated with multiple traits across different categories. Nine candidate genes were identified for several stable MQTLs, potentially contributing to traits such as quality, mineral content, and abiotic stress resistance. These genes play essential roles in various plant processes, such as carbohydrate metabolism, nitrogen assimilation, cell wall biogenesis, and cell wall extensibility. Overall, this study underscores the importance of considering MQTL analysis in wheat breeding programs, as it identifies stable genomic regions associated with multiple traits, offering potential solutions for improving wheat varieties under diverse environmental conditions.

Foot Placement in the Basic Position on the Start Block OSB12 of Young Competitive Swimmers.

BACKGROUND: The basic position on the starting block can influence the performance at the start, as it is the initial phase on which the other phases depend, as well as the swimming performance in sprint events in all swimming styles. The aim of our study is to analyze the effect of the foot in the base position on the block start on performance in the 5 m distance start. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen performance swimmers aged 17 ± 2 years were tested in their preferred wide and narrow starting positions, performing a total of six starts during which angular, temporal, and length changes were monitored in block, flight, and underwater phases. Fisher individual tests for differences of means were used to determine differences in kinematic parameters of the kick start to the 5 m distance. Differences in the position of the feet in kinematic parameters of the kick start to the 5 m distance were determined using the two-sample t-test with equal variance and effect size by Cohen's d. RESULTS: Swimmers were found to have significant differences (p < 0.05) between foot widths in block time (0.02 s), time to 2 m (0.05 s), flight and glide time and distance, maximal depth, and time to 5 m (0.08) in favor of the narrow baseline position. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend marking the center of the start block on the OSB or OSB platform for the competitors, as well as the center of the backrest, for better orientation and assuming the correct basic foot position on the start block.

Three Biannual Rotations Cycles with Residue Incorporation Affect Wheat Production and Chemical Soil Properties.

BACKGROUND: There are few reports of crop rotations with high residue incorporation in terms of their effects on indicator crop yields and soil properties, so this study evaluated the effect of two medium-term biannual rotations on wheat yield development and soil chemical properties after six years of rotation. METHODS: The experiment was conducted with two biannual rotations (canola-wheat and bean-wheat) and four residue incorporation levels (0%, 50%, 100%, and 200%) in an Andisol in south central Chile. Wheat grain yield and residue production were evaluated during each biannual cycle during three cycles of crop rotation, and soil chemical properties were evaluated at final evaluation. RESULTS: The use of beans as a wheat preculture partially improved grain yield in 7.3%. The chemical properties of the soil showed an increase in pH (0.08 units), organic matter content (15 g kg-1), and concentrations of P (2.8 mg kg-1), S (7.4 mg kg-1), and Al (0.03 cmol+ kg-1) after canola cultivation, while after bean cultivation there was an increase in the available N concentration (3.7 mg kg-1). The use of increasing doses of residue allowed for an increase in the soil pH and decrease in the exchangeable Al concentration. CONCLUSION: The continuous incorporation of the residues produced within the biannual rotations evaluated in this volcanic soil did contribute to improving some chemical properties of the soil without affecting wheat crop yield.

Phenotypic variation in leaf photosynthetic traits, leaf area index, and carbon discrimination of field-grown wheat genotypes and their relationship with yield performance in Mediterranean environments.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Leaf water potential, gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence exhibited significant differences among genotypes, high environmental effects, but low heritability. The highest-yielding and drought-tolerant genotypes presented superior harvest index and grain weight, compared to drought-susceptible ones. Physiological phenotyping can help identify useful traits related to crop performance under water-limited conditions. A set of fourteen bread wheat genotypes with contrasting grain yield (GY) was studied in eight Mediterranean environments in Chile, resulting from the combination of two sites (Cauquenes and Santa Rosa), two water conditions (rainfed-WL and irrigated-WW), and four growing seasons (2015-2018). The objectives were to (i) evaluate the phenotypic variation of leaf photosynthetic traits after heading (anthesis and grain filling) in different environments; (ii) analyze the relationship between GY and leaf photosynthetic traits and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C); and (iii) identify those traits that could have a greater impact in the determination of tolerant genotypes under field conditions. Agronomic traits exhibited significant genotypic differences and genotype × environment (GxE) interaction. The average GY under the WW condition at Santa Rosa was 9.2 Mg ha-1 (range 8.2-9.9 Mg ha-1) and under the WL condition at Cauquenes was 6.2 Mg ha-1 (range 3.7-8.3 Mg ha-1). The GY was closely related to the harvest index (HI) in 14 out of 16 environments, a trait exhibiting a relatively high heritability. In general terms, the leaf photosynthetic traits presented low GxE interaction, but high environmental effects and low heritability, except for the chlorophyll content. The relationships between GY and leaf photosynthetic traits were weaker when performed across genotypes in each environment, indicating low genotypic effects, and stronger when performed across environments for each genotype. The leaf area index and Δ13C also presented high environmental effects and low heritability, and their correlations with GY were influenced by environmental effects. The highest-yielding and drought-tolerant genotypes presented superior HI and grain weight, but no clear differences in leaf photosynthetic traits or Δ13C, compared to drought-susceptible ones. It seems that the phenotypic plasticity of agronomic and leaf photosynthetic traits is very important for crop adaptation to Mediterranean environments.

A comprehensive meta-QTL analysis for yield-related traits of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) grown under different water regimes.

Abiotic stress strongly affects yield-related traits in durum wheat, in particular drought is one of the main environmental factors that have effect on grain yield and plant architecture. In order to obtain new genotypes well adapted to stress conditions, the highest number of desirable traits needs to be combined in the same genotype. In this context, hundreds of quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified for yield-related traits in different genetic backgrounds and environments. Meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis is a useful approach to combine data sets and for creating consensus positions for the QTL detected in independent studies for the reliability of their location and effects. MQTL analysis is a useful method to dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits, which provide an extensive allelic coverage, a higher mapping resolution and allow the identification of putative molecular markers useful for marker-assisted selection (MAS). In the present study, a complete and comprehensive MQTL analysis was carried out to identify genomic regions associated with grain-yield related traits in durum wheat under different water regimes. A total of 724 QTL on all 14 chromosomes (genomes A and B) were collected for the 19 yield-related traits selected, of which 468 were reported under rainfed conditions, and 256 under irrigated conditions. Out of the 590 QTL projected on the consensus map, 421 were grouped into 76 MQTL associated with yield components under both irrigated and rainfed conditions, 12 genomic regions containing stable MQTL on all chromosomes except 1A, 4A, 5A, and 6B. Candidate genes associated to MQTL were identified and an in-silico expression analysis was carried out for 15 genes selected among those that were differentially expressed under drought. These results can be used to increase durum wheat grain yields under different water regimes and to obtain new genotypes adapted to climate change.

Leaf and Canopy Traits Associated with Stay-Green Expression Are Closely Related to Yield Components of Wheat Genotypes with Contrasting Tolerance to Water Stress.

The onset and rate of senescence influence key agronomical traits, including grain yield (GY). Our objective was to assess the relationships between stay-green and GY in a set of fourteen spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes with contrasting tolerance to water stress. Based on leaf chlorophyll content index (Chl) and normalized vegetation index (NDVI) measurements, the senescence dynamics at leaf and canopy levels, respectively, were quantified. Parameters describing the dynamics of senescence were examined in glasshouse and field experiments under well-watered (WW) and water-limited (WL) regimes, and they included the following stay-green traits: maximum NDVI or Chl near to anthesis (NDVImax, Chlmax), the senescence rate (SR, rate), the area under curve (AreaNDVI, AreaChl), and the time from anthesis to 10 (tonset), 50 (t50, X50) and 90% (t90) senescence. Our results revealed that specific stay-green traits were significantly different among genotypes and water regimes in both glasshouse and field experiments. GY was positively correlated with ttotal (0.42), tonset (0.62) and NDVIdif (0.63). Under WL, NDVIdif and NDVImax correlated with GY (0.66-0.58), but only t50 correlated with GY under WW (0.62), indicating that phenotyping of stay-green trait is a useful tool for tracking the dynamics of senescence in WW and WL environments.

Exploring plant responses to abiotic stress by contrasting spectral signature changes.

In this study, daily changes over a short period and diurnal progression of spectral reflectance at the leaf level were used to identify spring wheat genotypes (Triticum aestivum L.) susceptible to adverse conditions. Four genotypes were grown in pots experiments under semi-controlled conditions in Chile and Spain. Three treatments were applied: i) control (C), ii) water stress (WS), and iii) combined water and heat shock (WS+T). Spectral reflectance, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were performed on flag leaves for three consecutive days at anthesis. High canopy temperature ( H CT ) genotypes showed less variability in their mean spectral reflectance signature and chlorophyll fluorescence, which was related to weaker responses to environmental fluctuations. While low canopy temperature ( L CT ) genotypes showed greater variability. The genotypes spectral signature changes, in accordance with environmental fluctuation, were associated with variations in their stomatal conductance under both stress conditions (WS and WS+T); L CT genotypes showed an anisohydric response compared that of H CT , which was isohydric. This approach could be used in breeding programs for screening a large number of genotypes through proximal or remote sensing tools and be a novel but simple way to identify groups of genotypes with contrasting performances.

Leg Dominance and OSB12 Kick Start Performance in Young Competitive Swimmers.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in starting and kick-plate positions, pointing to an effect on kick-start performance with the dominant and non-dominant feet placed on the front edge of the OSB12 starting block. The sample included 20 female competitive swimmers whose average age was 16.1 ± 0.6 years. To assess swimmers' lower body explosive strength and determine leg dominance, a triple hop distance test was administered. We determined the swimmers' preferred starting position on a starting block in terms of the kick-plate setting and body position on the starting block. The results of our study demonstrate the importance of leg dominance and positioning on the OSB12 starting block. After the preferred starting position was determined, the optimal position for the kick start was selected. When the dominant leg was placed on the front edge of the starting block (p < 0.05; Cohen's d-large effect), swimmers produced shorter block times and times to 2 and 5 m. For most of the tested swimmers, the optimal basic position on the starting block included neutral- and rear-weighted positions with the kick plate set to positions 3-4 and the right leg placed on the front edge of the OSB12 starting block.

Key Parameters Affecting Kick Start Performance in Competitive Swimming.

The study aims to determine the contribution of kinematic parameters to time to 5 m without underwater undulating and kicking. Eighteen male competitive swimmers started from three weighted positions and set the kick plate to positions 1-5. We used SwimPro cameras and the Dartfish© software. In the on-block phase, we found significant correlations (p < 0.01) between the front ankle angle and block time. The correlations between start phases were statistically significant (p < 0.01) between block time and rear ankle angle, respectively, to time to 2 m; rear knee angle and glide time; block time and time to 5 m; time to 2 m and time to 5 m; and flight distance and glide distance. The multiple regression analysis showed that the on-block phase and flight phase parameters, respectively, contributed 64% and 65% to the time to 5 m. The key block phase parameters included block time and rear knee angle. The key flight phase parameters determining time to 5 m included take-off angle and time to 2 m. The key parameters determining the performance to 5 m during the above-water phase include rear knee angle, block time, takeoff angle, and time to 2 m.

Genome-Wide Association of Stem Carbohydrate Accumulation and Remobilization during Grain Growth in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Mediterranean Environments.

Water deficit represents an important challenge for wheat production in many regions of the world. Accumulation and remobilization of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) in stems are part of the physiological responses regulated by plants to cope with water stress and, in turn, determine grain yield (GY). The genetic mechanisms underlying the variation in WSC are only partially understood. In this study, we aimed to identify Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers that account for variation in a suite of WSC and GY, evaluated in 225 cultivars and advanced lines of spring wheat. These genotypes were established in two sites in the Mediterranean region of Central Chile, under water-limited and full irrigation conditions, and assessed in two growing seasons, namely anthesis and maturity growth periods. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed by using 3243 SNP markers. Genetic variance accounted for 5 to 52% of phenotypic variation of the assessed traits. A rapid linkage disequilibrium decay was observed across chromosomes (r2 ≤ 0.2 at 2.52 kbp). Marker-trait association tests identified 96 SNPs related to stem weight (SW), WSCs, and GY, among other traits, at the different sites, growing seasons, and growth periods. The percentage of SNPs that were part of the gene-coding regions was 34%. Most of these genes are involved in the defensive response to drought and biotic stress. A complimentary analysis detected significant effects of different haplotypes on WSC and SW, in anthesis and maturity. Our results evidence both genetic and environmental influence on WSC dynamics in spring wheat. At the same time, they provide a series of markers suitable for supporting assisted selection approaches and functional characterization of genes.

Genetic Yield Gains and Changes in Morphophysiological-Related Traits of Winter Wheat in Southern Chilean High-Yielding Environments.

Both the temperate-humid zone and the southern part of the Mediterranean climate region of Chile are characterized by high wheat productivity. Study objectives were to analyze the yield potential, yield progress, and genetic progress of the winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and changes in agronomic and morphophysiological traits during the past 60 years. Thus, two field experiments: (a) yield potential and (b) yield genetic progress trials were conducted in high-yielding environments of central-southern Chile during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. In addition, yield progress was analyzed using yield historical data of a high-yielding environment from 1957 to 2017. Potential yield trials showed that, at the most favorable sites, grain yield reached ∼20.46 Mg ha-1. The prolonged growing and grain filling period, mild temperatures in December-January, ample water availability, and favorable soil conditions explain this high-potential yield. Yield progress analysis indicated that average grain yield increased from 2.70 Mg ha-1 in 1959 to 12.90 Mg ha-1 in 2017, with a 128.8 kg ha-1 per-year increase due to favorable soil and climatic conditions. For genetic progress trials, genetic gain in grain yield from 1965 to 2019 was 70.20 kg ha-1 (0.49%) per year, representing around 55% of the yield progress. Results revealed that the genetic gains in grain yield were related to increases in biomass partitioning toward reproductive organs, without significant increases in Shoot DW production. In addition, reducing trends in the NDVI, the fraction of intercepted PAR, the intercepted PAR (form emergence to heading), and the RGB-derived vegetation indices with the year of cultivar release were detected. These decreases could be due to the erectophile leaf habit, which enhanced photosynthetic activity, and thus grain yield increased. Also, senescence of bottom canopy leaves (starting from booting) could be involved by decreasing the ability of spectral and RGB-derived vegetation indices to capture the characteristics of green biomass after the booting stage. Contrary, a positive correlation was detected for intercepted PAR from heading to maturity, which could be due to a stay-green mechanism, supported by the trend of positive correlations of Chlorophyll content with the year of cultivar release.

Phytoene synthase 1 (Psy-1) and lipoxygenase 1 (Lpx-1) Genes Influence on Semolina Yellowness in Wheat Mediterranean Germplasm.

Phytoene synthase 1 (Psy1) and lipoxygenase 1 (Lpx-1) are key genes involved in the synthesis and catalysis of carotenoid pigments in durum wheat, regulating the increase and decrease in these compounds, respectively, resulting in the distinct yellow color of semolina and pasta. Here, we reported new haplotype variants and/or allele combinations of these two genes significantly affecting yellow pigment content in grain and semolina through their effect on carotenoid pigments. To reach the purpose of this work, three complementary approaches were undertaken: the identification of QTLs associated to carotenoid content on a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, the characterization of a Mediterranean panel of accessions for Psy1 and Lpx-1 genes, and monitoring the expression of Psy1 and Lpx-1 genes during grain filling on two genotypes with contrasting yellow pigments. Our data suggest that Psy1 plays a major role during grain development, contributing to semolina yellowness, and Lpx-1 appears to be more predominant at post-harvest stages and during pasta making.

New Findings in the Amino Acid Profile and Gene Expression in Contrasting Durum Wheat Gluten Strength Genotypes during Grain Filling.

Grain protein composition is important in wheat quality and may influence the amino acidic sequence of bioactive peptides obtained from this feedstock. However, the genetic basis modulating the amino acid profile in durum wheat is not well-understood. Therefore, strong and weak gluten strength durum wheat genotypes were evaluated for their amino acid composition along grain filling. Strong gluten strength lines showed higher expression levels of low-molecular-weight glutenin-related genes between 21 and 35 days post-anthesis (DPA) and exhibited up to 43.5% more alanine than the weak lines at 42 DPA, which was supported by the higher expression levels of putative alanine amino transferase genes in strong genotypes. Therefore, with the involvement of chemistry and molecular biology, the results present here may influence the science of wheat.

Thermal Imaging Reliability for Estimating Grain Yield and Carbon Isotope Discrimination in Wheat Genotypes: Importance of the Environmental Conditions.

Canopy temperature (Tc) by thermal imaging is a useful tool to study plant water status and estimate other crop traits. This work seeks to estimate grain yield (GY) and carbon discrimination (Δ13C) from stress degree day (SDD = Tc - air temperature, Ta), considering the effect of a number of environmental variables such as the averages of the maximum vapor pressure deficit (VPDmax) and the ambient temperature (Tmax), and the soil water content (SWC). For this, a set of 384 and a subset of 16 genotypes of spring bread wheat were evaluated in two Mediterranean-climate sites under water stress (WS) and full irrigation (FI) conditions, in 2011 and 2012, and 2014 and 2015, respectively. The relationship between the GY of the 384 wheat genotypes and SDD was negative and highly significant in 2011 (r2 = 0.52 to 0.68), but not significant in 2012 (r2 = 0.03 to 0.12). Under WS, the average GY, Δ13C, and SDD of wheat genotypes growing in ten environments were more associated with changes in VPDmax and Tmax than with the SWC. Therefore, the amount of water available to the plant is not enough information to assume that a particular genotype is experiencing a stress condition.

Exploring Agronomic and Physiological Traits Associated With the Differences in Productivity Between Triticale and Bread Wheat in Mediterranean Environments.

In Mediterranean climates soil water deficit occurs mainly during the spring and summer, having a great impact on cereal productivity. While previous studies have indicated that the grain yield (GY) of triticale is usually higher than bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), comparatively little is known about the performance of these crops under water-limited conditions or the physiological traits involved in the different yields of both crops. For this purpose, two sets of experiments were conducted in order to compare a high yielding triticale (cv. Aguacero) and spring wheat (cvs. Pandora and Domo). The first experiment, aiming to analyze the agronomic performance, was carried out in 10 sites located across a wide range of Mediterranean and temperate environments, distributed between 33°34' and 38°41' S. The second experiment, aiming to identify potential physiological traits linked to the different yields of the two crops, was conducted in two Mediterranean sites (Cauquenes and Santa Rosa) in which crops were grown under well-watered (WW) and water-limited (WL) conditions. The relationship between GY and the environmental index revealed that triticale exhibited a higher regression coefficient (Finlay and Wilkinson slope), indicating a more stable response to the environment, accompanied by higher yields than bread wheat. Harvest index was not significantly different between the two cereals, but triticale had higher kernels per spike (35%) and 1000 kernel weight (16%) than wheat, despite a lower number of spikes per square meter. The higher yield of triticale was linked to higher values of chlorophyll content, leaf net photosynthesis (An), the maximum rate of electron transport (ETRmax), the photochemical quantum yield of PSII [Y(II)] and leaf water-use efficiency. GY was positively correlated with Ci at anthesis and Δ13C in both species, as well as with gs at anthesis in triticale, but negatively correlated with non-photochemical fluorescence quenching and quantum yield of non-photochemical energy conversion at grain filling in wheat. These results revealed that triticale presented higher photosynthetic rates that contributed to increase plant growth and yield in the different environments, whereas wheat showed higher photoprotection system in detriment of assimilate production.

Bioabsorption and Bioaccumulation of Cadmium in the Straw and Grain of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Growing Soils Contaminated with Cadmium in Different Environment.

There is a worldwide increase of heavy metal or potentially toxic element (PTE), contamination in agricultural soils caused mainly by human and industrial action, which leads to food contamination in crops such as in maize. Cadmium (Cd) is a PTE often found in soils and it is ingested through food. It is necessary to determine the bioabsorption, distribution, and accumulation levels in maize to reduce or prevent food chain contamination. Cadmium absorption and accumulation in three maize cultivars were evaluated in three agricultural environments in Chile by increasing CdCl2 rates (0, 1, and 2 mg·kg-1). Evaluation included Cd accumulation and distribution in different plant tissues, bioaccumulation factor (BAF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), translocation factor (TF), and tolerance index (TI). Cadmium whole-plant uptake was only affected by the CdCl2 rate; the highest uptake was obtained with 2 mg·kg-1 CdCl2 (34.4 g·ha-1) (p < 0.05). Cadmium distribution in the maize plant usually exhibited the highest accumulation in the straw (p < 0.05), independently of the environment, Cd rate, and evaluated cultivar. Given the results for TF (TF > 2) and BAF (BAF > 1), the Los Tilos and Chillán environments were classified as having a high capacity to contaminate the food chain for all evaluated cultivars.

Assessing Wheat Traits by Spectral Reflectance: Do We Really Need to Focus on Predicted Trait-Values or Directly Identify the Elite Genotypes Group?

Phenotyping, via remote and proximal sensing techniques, of the agronomic and physiological traits associated with yield potential and drought adaptation could contribute to improvements in breeding programs. In the present study, 384 genotypes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were tested under fully irrigated (FI) and water stress (WS) conditions. The following traits were evaluated and assessed via spectral reflectance: Grain yield (GY), spikes per square meter (SM2), kernels per spike (KPS), thousand-kernel weight (TKW), chlorophyll content (SPAD), stem water soluble carbohydrate concentration and content (WSC and WSCC, respectively), carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C), and leaf area index (LAI). The performances of spectral reflectance indices (SRIs), four regression algorithms (PCR, PLSR, ridge regression RR, and SVR), and three classification methods (PCA-LDA, PLS-DA, and kNN) were evaluated for the prediction of each trait. For the classification approaches, two classes were established for each trait: The lower 80% of the trait variability range (Class 1) and the remaining 20% (Class 2 or elite genotypes). Both the SRIs and regression methods performed better when data from FI and WS were combined. The traits that were best estimated by SRIs and regression methods were GY and Δ13C. For most traits and conditions, the estimations provided by RR and SVR were the same, or better than, those provided by the SRIs. PLS-DA showed the best performance among the categorical methods and, unlike the SRI and regression models, most traits were relatively well-classified within a specific hydric condition (FI or WS), proving that classification approach is an effective tool to be explored in future studies related to genotype selection.

Ascertainment bias from imputation methods evaluation in wheat.

BACKGROUND: Whole-genome genotyping techniques like Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) are being used for genetic studies such as Genome-Wide Association (GWAS) and Genomewide Selection (GS), where different strategies for imputation have been developed. Nevertheless, imputation error may lead to poor performance (i.e. smaller power or higher false positive rate) when complete data is not required as it is for GWAS, and each marker is taken at a time. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of GWAS analysis for Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) of major and minor effect using different imputation methods when no reference panel is available in a wheat GBS panel. RESULTS: In this study, we compared the power and false positive rate of dissecting quantitative traits for imputed and not-imputed marker score matrices in: (1) a complete molecular marker barley panel array, and (2) a GBS wheat panel with missing data. We found that there is an ascertainment bias in imputation method comparisons. Simulating over a complete matrix and creating missing data at random proved that imputation methods have a poorer performance. Furthermore, we found that when QTL were simulated with imputed data, the imputation methods performed better than the not-imputed ones. On the other hand, when QTL were simulated with not-imputed data, the not-imputed method and one of the imputation methods performed better for dissecting quantitative traits. Moreover, larger differences between imputation methods were detected for QTL of major effect than QTL of minor effect. We also compared the different marker score matrices for GWAS analysis in a real wheat phenotype dataset, and we found minimal differences indicating that imputation did not improve the GWAS performance when a reference panel was not available. CONCLUSIONS: Poorer performance was found in GWAS analysis when an imputed marker score matrix was used, no reference panel is available, in a wheat GBS panel.

Physiological Traits Associated with Wheat Yield Potential and Performance under Water-Stress in a Mediterranean Environment.

Different physiological traits have been proposed as key traits associated with yield potential as well as performance under water stress. The aim of this paper is to examine the genotypic variability of leaf chlorophyll, stem water-soluble carbohydrate content and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ(13)C), and their relationship with grain yield (GY) and other agronomical traits, under contrasting water conditions in a Mediterranean environment. The study was performed on a large collection of 384 wheat genotypes grown under water stress (WS, rainfed), mild water stress (MWS, deficit irrigation), and full irrigation (FI). The average GY of two growing seasons was 2.4, 4.8, and 8.9 Mg ha(-1) under WS, MWS, and FI, respectively. Chlorophyll content at anthesis was positively correlated with GY (except under FI in 2011) and the agronomical components kernels per spike (KS) and thousand kernel weight (TKW). The WSC content at anthesis (WSCCa) was negatively correlated with spikes per square meter (SM2), but positively correlated with KS and TKW under WS and FI conditions. As a consequence, the relationships between WSCCa with GY were low or not significant. Therefore, selecting for high stem WSC would not necessary lead to genotypes of GY potential. The relationship between Δ(13)C and GY was positive under FI and MWS but negative under severe WS (in 2011), indicating higher water use under yield potential and MWS conditions.

SNP-Based QTL Mapping of 15 Complex Traits in Barley under Rain-Fed and Well-Watered Conditions by a Mixed Modeling Approach.

This study identified single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with 15 complex traits in a breeding population of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) consisting of 137 recombinant chromosome substitution lines (RCSL), evaluated under contrasting water availability conditions in the Mediterranean climatic region of central Chile. Given that markers showed a very strong segregation distortion, a quantitative trait locus/loci (QTL) mapping mixed model was used to account for the heterogeneity in genetic relatedness between genotypes. Fifty-seven QTL were detected under rain-fed conditions, which accounted for 5-22% of the phenotypic variation. In full irrigation conditions, 84 SNPs were significantly associated with the traits studied, explaining 5-35% of phenotypic variation. Most of the QTL were co-localized on chromosomes 2H and 3H. Environment-specific genomic regions were detected for 12 of the 15 traits scored. Although most QTL-trait associations were environment and trait specific, some important and stable associations were also detected. In full irrigation conditions, a relatively major genomic region was found underlying hectoliter weight (HW), on chromosome 1H, which explained between 27% (SNP 2711-234) and 35% (SNP 1923-265) of the phenotypic variation. Interestingly, the locus 1923-265 was also detected for grain yield at both environmental conditions, accounting for 9 and 18%, in the rain-fed and irrigation conditions, respectively. Analysis of QTL in this breeding population identified significant genomic regions that can be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of barley in areas where drought is a significant constraint.