title: Integrated genomics-based mapping reveals the genetics underlying maize flavonoid biosynthesis.
abstract: Flavonoids constitute a diverse class of secondary metabolites which exhibit potent bioactivities for human health and have been indicated to play an important role in plant development and defense. However, accumulation and variation of flavonoid content in diverse maize lines and the genes responsible for their biosynthesis in this important crop remain largely unknown. In this study, we combine genetic mapping, metabolite profiling and gene regulatory network analysis to further enhance understanding of the maize flavonoid pathway.
  
  
  
  We repeatedly detected 25 QTL corresponding to 23 distinct flavonoids across different environments or populations. In addition, a total of 39 genes were revealed both by an expression based network analysis and genetic mapping. Finally, the function of three candidate genes, including two UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGT) and an oxygenase which belongs to the flavone synthase super family, was revealed via preliminary molecular functional characterization.
  
  
  
  We explored the genetic influences on the flavonoid biosynthesis based on integrating the genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic information which provided a rich source of potential candidate genes. The integrated genomics based genetic mapping strategy is highly efficient for defining the complexity of functional genetic variants and their respective regulatory networks as well as in helping to select candidate genes and allelic variance before embarking on laborious transgenic validations.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xuehai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Mingchao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Yuanhao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Shouchuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tohge
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Alisdair R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernie
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willmitzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Yariv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brotman
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jianbing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. wwwen588@163.com.|Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany. wwwen588@163.com.|Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (Ministry of Education), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. wwwen588@163.com.
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wen
mesh_terms: D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D023281:Genomics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Association analysis; Co-expression network; Flavonoid; Linkage mapping; Maize; Natural variation