Journal
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
Volume 15, Issue 5, Pages 547-557Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12639
Keywords
Cowpea; Domestication; GWAS; Pod length; Selection; Transcriptome
Funding
- National Key Research & Development Program of China [2016YFD0100204-32]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31572135]
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province [LY15C150002]
- Major Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province
- National Ten-Thousand Talent Program of China
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate Resilient Cowpea (USAID Cooperative Agreement) [AID-OAA-A-13-00070]
- Illumina Agricultural Greater Good Initiative
- Hatch Project [CA-R-BPS-5306-H]
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Cowpea (V. unguiculata L. Walp) is a climate resilient legume crop important for food security. Cultivated cowpea (V. unguiculata L) generally comprises the bushy, short-podded grain cowpea dominant in Africa and the climbing, long-podded vegetable cowpea popular in Asia. How selection has contributed to the diversification of the two types of cowpea remains largely unknown. In the current study, a novel genotyping assay for over 50 000 SNPs was employed to delineate genomic regions governing pod length. Major, minor and epistatic QTLs were identified through QTL mapping. Seventy-two SNPs associated with pod length were detected by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Population stratification analysis revealed subdivision among a cowpea germplasm collection consisting of 299 accessions, which is consistent with pod length groups. Genomic scan for selective signals suggested that domestication of vegetable cowpea was accompanied by selection of multiple traits including pod length, while the further improvement process was featured by selection of pod length primarily. Pod growth kinetics assay demonstrated that more durable cell proliferation rather than cell elongation or enlargement was the main reason for longer pods. Transcriptomic analysis suggested the involvement of sugar, gibberellin and nutritional signalling in regulation of pod length. This study establishes the basis for map-based cloning of pod length genes in cowpea and for marker-assisted selection of this trait in breeding programmes.
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