Legume Genomics and Genetics 2024, Vol.15, No.1, 13-22 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/lgg 13 Research Report Open Access Key Genetic Markers Discovered through GWAS in Leguminous Crops and Their Application in Molecular Breeding Danyan Ding Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: kendrading@hotmail.com Legume Genomics and Genetics, 2024 Vol.15, No.1 doi: 10.5376/lgg.2024.15.0002 Received: 06 Dec., 2023 Accepted: 12 Jan., 2024 Published: 27 Jan., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Ding, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Ding D.Y., 2024, Key genetic markers discovered through GWAS in leguminous crops and their application in molecular breeding, Legume Genomics and Genetics, 15(1): 13-22 (doi: 10.5376/lgg.2024.15.0002) Abstract The application of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in molecular breeding of leguminous crops has shown great potential, despite technical and methodological challenges. These challenges include the need to process and analyze large-scale genetic data, the difficulty of ensuring high-quality genotypic and phenotypic data, and the complexity of controlling the effects of population structure and genetic background. Future development directions of this study may focus on developing more efficient data analysis algorithms, utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, developing high-throughput phenotyping technologies, and integrating multi-omics data to reveal deeper molecular mechanisms of trait formation. Elaborate. It aims to discover that advances in GWAS and molecular breeding technologies are of great significance for increasing global food production and promoting agricultural sustainability, especially in improving leguminous crop yields, disease resistance and adaptability. The development of these technologies not only accelerates the cultivation of new varieties, but also helps reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and promotes the process of ecological agriculture. Keywords Genome-wide association studies (GWAS); Leguminous crops; Molecular breeding; Technical challenges; Agricultural sustainability 1 Introduction Legume crops are widely grown and consumed around the world, and they play a vital role in maintaining global food security, ecological balance, and economic development. As an important source of protein and other key nutrients, leguminous crops not only provide essential food resources for humans but also improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, thereby supporting sustainable agriculture and ecosystem health. In addition, leguminous crops also occupy an important position in the global trade market and have a significant impact on the economies of many countries. However, with the growth of global population and the impact of climate change, leguminous crop production faces multiple challenges, including insufficient yields, pests and diseases, and vulnerability to adversities (e.g., drought, salinized soils). In this context, the development of molecular breeding technology provides new opportunities for the improvement of leguminous crops. Molecular breeding uses molecular biology tools, especially molecular markers, to select and breed crop varieties with superior traits. This method can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of breeding and help breed new varieties with high yield, strong disease resistance and wide adaptability (Sallam et al., 2016). Genome -wide association studies (GWAS) are an important technique in molecular breeding, which identify genetic markers associated with specific traits by statistically analyzing the association between genomic data and phenotypic data. The advantage of GWAS is its ability to explore trait-related genetic variation across the entire genome, without being limited to known genes or markers, making it a powerful tool for discovering crop genetic diversity and the potential for trait improvement. Through GWAS, researchers can reveal the genetic basis that affects important agronomic traits in leguminous crops, such as yield, quality, stress resistance, etc., thereby guiding molecular breeding practices (Dhaliwal et al., 2022).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==