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  • Genome-wide association stu...
    Liang, Cuili; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Liu, Xing; Tan, Yingchao; Xu, Tiancheng; Zheng, Cheng; Zhang, Shengmin; Qi, Jiyan; Liu, Xiaodong; Zeng, Xia; Luo, Hongli; Li, Zhonghua; Liu, Hui; Cao, Jie; Liu, Kaiye; Tang, Chaorong

    Industrial crops and products, 09/2024, Volume: 216
    Journal Article

    The cultivation of elite latex-timber clones that exhibit both enhanced NR and wood production has become a key objective in current Hevea brasiliensis breeding programs. The girth and dry rubber yield (DRY) are two crucial indicators for evaluating the latex-timber characteristics of Hevea trees. However, the quantitative trait locus (QTL) and candidate genes identified for these traits are still limited. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in a Whickham germplasm offspring to identify genetic variants associated with girth and DRY. Girth and DRY phenotypes were measured for three consecutive years. Meanwhile, a total of 7835,736 high-confidence SNPs were identified from 218 Hevea accessions. Remarkably, the population exhibited a high level of genetic diversity, coupled with a rapid decline in linkage disequilibrium, and was roughly grouped into three subgroups by population structure analysis. A total of 17 and 76 SNPs, respectively, correlated significantly with girth DRY, and corresponded to 31 and 284candidate genes for girth and DRY. To further assess the candidates, gene expression analyses were performed separately on four types of Hevea tree tissues and two distinct groups exhibiting notable girth or DRY phenotypic differences. Eventually, a cullin protein and an iridoid oxidase protein were identified as prospective girth regulators, whereas two chloroplast thylakoid membrane proteins and an auxin-repressed protein were implicated in shaping the performance of DRY. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the genetic foundations of girth and DRY, as well as molecular-assisted breeding of latex-timber rubber clones. Display omitted •Genome-wide association study on 218 offspring accessions of Hevea Wickham germplasm to identify girth and rubber yield QTLs.•Substantial genetic diversity observed in this progeny population.•17 and 76 significant SNPs associated with girth and rubber yield, respectively.•The cullin and iridoid oxidase identified as promising candidates for regulating girth development.•The chloroplast thylakoid membrane and auxin-repressed proteins identified as candidates affecting rubber yield.