Genome-wide association study reveals the genetic basis of cold tolerance in wheat

摘要

Low temperature (LT) is a key environmental stress affecting the growth, development, yield, and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). To better understand the genetic basis of cold tolerance in wheat, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of low-temperature tolerance at the seedling stage. A total of 543 accessions were genotyped by high-density 90K Illumina iSelect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, based on phenotypic tests in six environments. We detected 63 loci including 76 significant SNPs associated with cold resistance. These significant SNPs were scattered over 18 chromosomes, which associated with 361 unique candidate genes. Furthermore, by combining transcriptome and GWAS analysis, we additionally identified 85 candidate genes related to cold resistance. These results offer new insights into the genetic basis of cold tolerance, and the linkage markers generated in this study should contribute to molecular-assisted breeding of cold tolerance in wheat.