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Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Candidate Genes Related to the Linoleic Acid Content in Soybean Seeds

Authors :
Qin Di
Angela Piersanti
Qi Zhang
Cristina Miceli
Hui Li
Xiaoyi Liu
Source :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 23, Iss 1, p 454 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) oil is a complex mixture of five fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic). The high content of linoleic acid (LA) contributes to the oil having poor oxidative stability. Therefore, soybean seed with a lower LA content is desirable. To investigate the genetic architecture of LA, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 510 soybean cultivars collected from China. The phenotypic identification results showed that the content of LA varied from 36.22% to 72.18%. The GWAS analysis showed that there were 37 genes related to oleic acid content, with a contribution rate of 7%. The candidate gene Glyma.04G116500.1 (GmWRI14) on chromosome 4 was detected in three consecutive years. The GmWRI14 showed a negative correlation with the LA content and the correlation coefficient was −0.912. To test whether GmWRI14 can lead to a lower LA content in soybean, we introduced GmWRI14 into the soybean genome. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF IMS) showed that the overexpression of GmWRI14 leads to a lower LA content in soybean seeds. Meanwhile, RNA-seq verified that GmWRI14-overexpressed soybean lines showed a lower accumulation of GmFAD2-1A and GmFAD2-1B than control lines. Our results indicate that the down-regulation of the FAD2 gene triggered by the transcription factor GmWRI14 is the underlying mechanism reducing the LA level of seed. Our results provide novel insights into the genetic architecture of LA and pinpoint potential candidate genes for further in-depth studies.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14220067 and 16616596
Volume :
23
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.641baf2cd86b471fb031b96e86507d1a
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23010454