title: Genome-wide association study using cellular traits identifies a new regulator of root development in Arabidopsis.
abstract: With the increased availability of high-resolution sequence information, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have become feasible in a number of species. The vast majority of these studies are conducted in human populations, where it is difficult to provide strong evidence for the functional involvement of unknown genes that are identified using GWA. Here we used the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana to combine high-throughput confocal microscopy imaging of traits at the cellular level, GWA and expression analyses to identify genomic regions that are associated with developmental cell-type traits. We identify and characterize a new F-box gene, KUK, that regulates meristem and cell length. We further show that polymorphisms in the coding sequence are the major causes of KUK allele-dependent natural variation in root development. This work demonstrates the feasibility of GWA using cellular traits to identify causal genes for basic biological processes such as development.
authors.affiliation: 1] Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria. [2].
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meijón
authors.affiliation: Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Santosh B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Satbhai
authors.affiliation: Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchimatsu
authors.affiliation: Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.identifier: 0000000320427290
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Busch
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D044783:F-Box Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005787:Gene Frequency; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C586718:At1g60370 protein, Arabidopsis; D044783:F-Box Proteins