title: Species- and genome-wide dissection of the shoot ionome in Brassica napus and its relationship to seedling development.
abstract: Knowing the genetic basis of the plant ionome is essential for understanding the control of nutrient transport and accumulation. The aim of this research was to (i) study mineral nutrient concentrations in a large and diverse set of Brassica napus, (ii) describe the relationships between the shoot ionome and seedling development, and (iii) identify genetic regions associated with variation of the shoot ionome. The plant material under study was a germplasm set consisting of 509 inbred lines that was genotyped by a 6K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and phenotyped by analyzing the concentrations of eleven mineral nutrients in the shoots of 30 days old seedlings. Among mineral concentrations, positive correlations were found, whereas mineral concentrations were mainly negatively correlated with seedling development traits from earlier studies. In a genome-wide association mapping approach, altogether 29 significantly associated loci were identified across seven traits after correcting for multiple testing. The associations included a locus with effects on the concentrations of Cu, Mn, and Zn on chromosome C3, and a genetic region with multiple associations for Na concentration on chromosome A9. This region was situated within an association hotspot close to SOS1, a key gene for Na tolerance in plants.
authors.affiliation: Quantitative Crop Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne, Germany ; Crop Genetics and Biotechnology Unit, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bus
authors.affiliation: Quantitative Crop Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne, Germany ; Crop Genetics and Biotechnology Unit, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Körber
authors.affiliation: Saskatoon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Isobel A P
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Parkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding, Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Samans
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding, Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Rod J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Snowdon
authors.affiliation: Quantitative Crop Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Jinquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Quantitative Crop Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stich
keywords: Brassica napus; genome-wide association mapping; linkage disequilibrium; shoot ionome; single nucleotide polymorphism