4.7 Article

Unraveling the impact on agronomic traits of the genetic architecture underlying plant-density responses in canola

Journal

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
Volume 72, Issue 15, Pages 5426-5441

Publisher

OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab191

Keywords

Arabidopsis thaliana; Brassica napus; canola; genome-wide association study (GWAS); phenotypic plasticity; plant density; QTL; rapeseed; transcriptome; shade-avoidance response (SAR)

Categories

Funding

  1. University of Buenos Aires (UBACYT) [20020170100265BA, SPU VT38-UBA9537]
  2. Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica of Argentina [PICT2016-1294, PICT2017-0583]
  3. European Union SIGNAT-Research and Innovation Staff Exchange [H2020-MSCA-RISE-2014-644435]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study investigated the growth and yield traits of canola under different plant densities, revealing both density-independent and density-dependent associations. Through transcriptomic analysis and gene mutation experiments, the research identified specific genes that regulate plant growth and flowering time in response to different densities.
Plant density defines vegetative architecture and the competition for light between individuals. Brassica napus (canola, rapeseed) presents a radically different plant architecture compared to traditional crops commonly cultivated at high density, and can act as a model system of indeterminate growth. Using a panel of 152 spring-type accessions and a double-haploid population of 99 lines from a cross between the cultivars Lynx and Monty, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for 12 growth and yield traits at two contrasting plant densities of 15 and 60 plants m(-2). The most significant associations were found for time to flowering, biomass at harvest, plant height, silique and seed numbers, and seed yield. These were generally independent of plant density, but some density-dependent associations were found in low-density populations. RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis revealed distinctive latent gene-regulatory responses to simulated shade between Lynx and Monty. Having identified candidate genes within the canola QTLs, we further examined their influence on density responses in Arabidopsis lines mutated in certain homologous genes. The results suggested that TCP1 might promote growth independently of plant density, while HY5 could increase biomass and seed yield specifically at high plant density. For flowering time, the results suggested that PIN genes might accelerate flowering in plant a density-dependent manner whilst FT, HY5, and TCP1 might accelerate it in a density-independent. This work highlights the advantages of using agronomic field experiments together with genetic and transcriptomic approaches to decipher quantitative complex traits that potentially mediate improved crop productivity.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available