Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2022
Keywords
Spinach; Nitrogen (N) uptake; Genome-wide association study (GWAS); Biomass partitioning; Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); Genetic diversity
Abstract
Efficient partitioning of above and below-ground biomass in response to nitrogen (N) is critical to the productivity of plants under sub-optimal conditions. It is particularly essential in vegetable crops like spinach with shallow root systems, a short growth cycle, and poor nitrogen use efficiency. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to explore N-induced changes using spinach accessions with diverse genetic backgrounds. We evaluated phenotypic variations as percent changes in the shoot and root biomass in response to N using 201 spinach accessions grown in randomized complete blocks design in a soilless media under a controlled environment. A GWAS was performed for the percent changes in the shoot and root biomass in response to N in the 201 spinach accessions using 60,940 whole-genome resequencing generated SNPs. Three SNP markers, chr4_28292655, chr6_1531056, and chr6_37966006 on chromosomes 4 and 6, were significantly associated with %change in root weight, and two SNP markers, chr2_18480277 and chr4_47598760 on chromosomes 2 and 4, were significantly associated with % change shoot weight. The outcome of this study established a foundation for genetic studies needed to improve the partitioning of total biomass and provided a resource to identify molecular markers to enhance N uptake via marker-assisted selection or genomic selection in spinach breeding programs.
Citation
Joshi, V., Shi, A., Mishra, A. K., Gill, H., & DiPiazza, J. (2022). Genetic Dissection of Nitrogen Induced Changes in the Shoot and Root Biomass of Spinach. Scientific Reports, 12, 13751. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18134-7
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
