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Alleles to Enhance Antioxidant Content in MaizeA Genome-Wide Association Approach
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-17, 19:45 authored by Mara Lisa Alves, Andreia Bento-Silva, Bruna Carbas, Daniel Gaspar, Manuel Paulo, Cláudia Brites, Pedro Mendes-Moreira, Carla Moita Brites, Maria do Rosário Bronze, Marcos Malosetti, Fred van Eeuwijk, Maria Carlota Vaz PattoThe
interest in antioxidant compound breeding in maize (Zea mays L.), a major food crop, has increased in
recent years. However, breeding of antioxidant compounds in maize
can be hampered, given the
complex genetic nature of these compounds. In this work, we followed
a genome-wide association approach, using a unique germplasm collection
(containing Portuguese germplasm), to study the genetic basis of several
antioxidants in maize. Sixty-seven genomic regions associated with
seven antioxidant compounds and two color-related traits were identified.
Several significant associations were located within or near genes
involved in the carotenoid (Zm00001d036345) and tocopherol biosynthetic
pathways (Zm00001d017746). Some indications of a negative selection
against α-tocopherol levels were detected in the Portuguese
maize germplasm. The strongest single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-trait
associations and the SNP alleles with larger effect sizes were pinpointed
and set as priority for future validation studies; these associations
detected now constitute a benchmark for developing molecular selection
tools for antioxidant compound selection in maize.