Genome-wide association analysis of plant height and ear height related traits in maize.

Suitable plant height (PH) and ear height (EH) can improve the efficiency of nutrient utilization and lodging resistance, which is of great significance for stable and high yield in maize. In this study, an association panel including 854 maize inbred lines used to analyze the PH, EH, and the ratio of EH to PH (EH/PH) in four environments, and genome-wide association study (GWAS) was then conducted using 2795 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers distributed uniformly throughout maize genome. A total of 81 SNP loci (P < 0.0001) were identified by using FarmCPU model, among which 35 SNPs were significantly associated with PH, with phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 0.020% to 6.225%; 31 SNPs were significantly associated with ear height, and PVE was from 0.026% to 3.060%; 24 SNPs were significantly associated with EH/PH, and the PVE ranged from 0.032% to 6.636%. 15 stable SNPs that were repeatedly detected in multiple environments for specific trait were further identified, among which six loci were reported for the first time in this study, and the remaining nine loci located in the previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) or/and no more than 2 Mb with the known SNPs related with PH and EH traits. A total of 83 genes were annotated in the confidence intervals of the 15 stable SNPs, and the most likely candidate genes were further predicted according to the gene functional annotations and comparison with previous reports. The candidate genes were mainly involved in hormone synthesis and signal transduction, carbohydrate metabolism, cell division regulation and so on. Finally, six major SNP loci and one locus that affected PH, EH, and EH/PH simultaneously were identified. This study can provide genetic loci for molecular marker-assisted selection in maize breeding and provide valuable information for fine mapping and cloning of PH and EH related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]