Natural genetic variation in selected populations of Arabidopsis thaliana is associated with ionomic differences.
Controlling elemental composition is critical for plant growth and development as well as the nutrition of humans who utilize plants for food. Uncovering the genetic architecture underlying mineral ion homeostasis in plants is a critical first step towards understanding the biochemical networks that regulate a plant's elemental composition (ionome). Natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana provide a rich source of genetic diversity that leads to phenotypic differences. We analyzed the concentrations of 17 different elements in 12 A. thaliana accessions and three recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations grown in several different environments using high-throughput inductively coupled plasma- mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Significant differences were detected between the accessions for most elements and we identified over a hundred QTLs for elemental accumulation in the RIL populations. Altering the environment the plants were grown in had a strong effect on the correlations between different elements and the QTLs controlling elemental accumulation. All ionomic data presented is publicly available at www.ionomicshub.org.
Buescher
Elizabeth
E
Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
Achberger
Tilman
T
Amusan
Idris
I
Giannini
Anthony
A
Ochsenfeld
Cherie
C
Rus
Ana
A
Lahner
Brett
B
Hoekenga
Owen
O
Yakubova
Elena
E
Harper
Jeffrey F
JF
Guerinot
Mary Lou
ML
Zhang
Min
M
Salt
David E
DE
Baxter
Ivan R
IR
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D014644:Genetic Variation; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000378:metabolism; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism