Genome-wide association study of lignin trait in elite spring wheat against spot blotch disease

Abstract

Spot blotch disease in wheat is one of major yield-limiting factor in warm humid conditions of South Asia. Developing the disease-resistant variety through molecular methods is an economically and environmentally eco-friendly approach. Diseased wheat leaves associated with lignin content increased by two or three times at 72 h compared with control. The genomic region associated with lignin content was investigated in a set of 289 diverse spring wheat genotypes. The genome - wide association studies panel employed a 90K Illumina SNP array and phenotyped in four environments. The GWAS analysis showed a total of 86 marker-trait associations on 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3D, 4A, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6D, 7A, 7B, 7D were linked lignin trait. Insilco analysis revealed that significant SNPs were located on import putative candidate genes thirteen in the Transmembrane domain of the protein-kinase family and were involved in the host-pathogen interaction. The identified significant MTAs for further validation and useful for the wheat breeding programs to develop the spot blotch disease resistance. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd