Strong temporal dynamics of QTL action on plant growth progression revealed through high‐throughput phenotyping in canola

Abstract

A major challenge of plant biology is to unravel the genetic basis of complex traits. We took advantage of recent technical advances in high-throughput phenotyping in conjunction with genome-wide association studies to elucidate genotype-phenotype relationships at high temporal resolution. A diverse Brassica napus population from a commercial breeding programme was analysed by automated non-invasive phenotyping. Time-resolved data for early growth-related traits, including estimated biovolume, projected leaf area, early plant height and colour uniformity, were established and complemented by fresh and dry weight biomass. Genome-wide SNP array data provided the framework for genome-wide association analyses. Using time point data and relative growth rates, multiple robust main effect marker-trait associations for biomass and related traits were detected. Candidate genes involved in meristem development, cell wall modification and transcriptional regulation were detected. Our results demonstrate that early plant growth is a highly complex trait governed by several medium and many small effect loci, most of which act only during short phases. These observations highlight the importance of taking the temporal patterns of QTL/allele actions into account and emphasize the need for detailed time-resolved analyses to effectively unravel the complex and stage-specific contributions of genes affecting growth processes that operate at different developmental phases.

Plant phenotyping relevance

自動化された非侵襲的ハイスループット表現型解析を用いて、成長関連形質を時間分解して取得・解析することが研究の中核であり、単なるルーチン測定を超える実質的なプラットフォーム適用である。

Code and data availability

The paper describes high-throughput phenotyping of 477 B. napus lines and GWAS, with data provided only as supplementary files (Data S1–S8) referenced in the text. No public repository deposit, author analysis code URL, or downloadable phenotype/image dataset is mentioned in the supplied blocks. The only URLs present (

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