Genome-wide association study identified novel candidate loci affecting wood formation in Norway spruce [Elektronisk resurs]

• Norway spruce is a boreal forest tree species of significant ecological and economic importance. Hence there is a strong imperative to dissect the genetics underlying important wood quality traits in the species. We performed a functional genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 17 wood traits in Norway spruce using 178 101 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from exome genotyping of 517 mother trees. The wood traits were defined using functional modelling of wood properties across annual growth rings. We applied a Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO-based) association mapping method using a functional multilocus mapping approach that utilizes latent traits, with a stability selection probability method as the hypothesis testing approach to determine a significant quantitative trait locus. The analysis provided 52 significant SNPs from 39 candidate genes, including genes previously implicated in wood formation and tree growth in spruce and other species. Our study represents a multilocus GWAS for complex wood traits in Norway spruce. The results advance our understanding of the genetics influencing wood traits and identifies candidate genes for future functional studies. 

Ämnesord

Natural Sciences  (hsv)

Biological Sciences  (hsv)

Bioinformatics and Systems Biology  (hsv)

Naturvetenskap  (hsv)

Biologiska vetenskaper  (hsv)

Bioinformatik och systembiologi  (hsv)

Genre

government publication  (marcgt)

Indexterm och SAB-rubrik

candidate genes

functional trait mapping

genome-wide association mapping

Norway spruce

quence capture

single nucleotide polymorphisms