title: Genome-wide association study dissects the genetic architecture of oil biosynthesis in maize kernels.
abstract: Maize kernel oil is a valuable source of nutrition. Here we extensively examine the genetic architecture of maize oil biosynthesis in a genome-wide association study using 1.03 million SNPs characterized in 368 maize inbred lines, including 'high-oil' lines. We identified 74 loci significantly associated with kernel oil concentration and fatty acid composition (P < 1.8 × 10(-6)), which we subsequently examined using expression quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, linkage mapping and coexpression analysis. More than half of the identified loci localized in mapped QTL intervals, and one-third of the candidate genes were annotated as enzymes in the oil metabolic pathway. The 26 loci associated with oil concentration could explain up to 83% of the phenotypic variation using a simple additive model. Our results provide insights into the genetic basis of oil biosynthesis in maize kernels and may facilitate marker-based breeding for oil quantity and quality.
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhiyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yingjia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Yuchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Marilyn L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Warburton
authors.forename: Yanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xiaomin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jinyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yunjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Guoying
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiansheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jianbing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003314:Corn Oil / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003314:Corn Oil