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Whole genome scan detects an allelic variant of fad2 associated with increased oleic acid levels in maize

Molecular Genetics and Genomics volume 279, pages 1–10 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

We used whole genome scan association mapping to identify loci with major effect on oleic acid content in maize kernels. Single nucleotide polymorphism haplotypes at 8,590 loci were tested for association with oleic acid content in 553 maize inbreds. A single locus with major effect on oleic acid was mapped between 380 and 384 cM in the IBM2 neighbors genetic map on chromosome 4 and confirmed in a biparental population. A fatty acid desaturase, fad2, identified ∼2 kb from the associated genetic marker, is the most likely candidate gene responsible for the differences in the phenotype. The fad2 alleles with high- and low-oleic acid content were sequenced and allelic differences in fad2 RNA level in developing embryos was investigated. We propose that a non-conservative amino acid polymorphism near the active site of fad2 contributes to the effect on oleic acid content. This is the first report of the use of a high resolution whole genome scan association mapping where a putative gene responsible for a quantitative trait was identified in plants.

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Affiliations

  1. Graduate Integrative Training Option program, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, 152 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    André Beló & Antoni Rafalski

  2. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, IA, 50131-0184, USA

    Peizhong Zheng, Bo Shen & David J. Meyer

  3. DuPont Crop Genetics Research, DuPont Experimental Station E353, Route 141 and Henry Clay Road, Wilmington, DE, 19880-0353, USA

    André Beló, Stanley Luck, Bailin Li, Scott Tingey & Antoni Rafalski

Authors
  1. André Beló
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  2. Peizhong Zheng
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  3. Stanley Luck
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  4. Bo Shen
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  5. David J. Meyer
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  6. Bailin Li
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  7. Scott Tingey
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  8. Antoni Rafalski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antoni Rafalski.

Additional information

Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession number EF687907.

Communicated by R. Waugh.

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Beló, A., Zheng, P., Luck, S. et al. Whole genome scan detects an allelic variant of fad2 associated with increased oleic acid levels in maize. Mol Genet Genomics 279, 1–10 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-007-0289-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-007-0289-y

Keywords

  • Whole genome scan
  • Association mapping
  • Maize
  • fad2
  • Oleic fatty acid