Maize Genomics and Genetics 2024, Vol.15, No.1, 18-26 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/mgg 18 Review and Progress OpenAcces The Genetic Basis of Nutritional Quality Traits in Maize: Insights from GWAS Liang Li, Wenzhong Huang Hainan Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Sanya, 572000, Hainan, China Corresponding author: 3048511772@qq.com Maize Genomics and Genetics, 2024, Vol.15, No.1 doi: 10.5376/mgg.2024.15.0003 Received: 15 Dec., 2023 Accepted: 20 Jan., 2024 Published: 06 Feb., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Li and Huang, 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: Li L., and Huang W.Z., 2024, The genetic basis of nutritional quality traits in maize: Insights from GWAS, Maize Genomics and Genetics, 15(1): 18-26 (doi: 10.5376/mgg.2024.15.0003) Abstract As a cornerstone of global food security, the nutritional quality traits of maize are crucial for enhancing food value and meeting the growing nutritional demands. This study utilized the Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) method to explore the genetic basis of maize nutritional quality traits, including protein content, oil content, and the content of vitamins and minerals. By analyzing a vast array of maize genetic resources and phenotypic data, we identified several genetic markers and candidate genes significantly associated with nutritional quality traits. These discoveries provide new insights into the genetic regulatory mechanisms of maize nutritional quality traits and offer valuable molecular markers for future maize improvement and breeding programs. In summary, this study not only enhances our understanding of the genetic foundations of maize nutritional quality traits but also demonstrates the potential application of GWAS in crop genetic research, with the expectation that these fundamental research outcomes will promote the improvement of maize varieties to meet global demands for healthy food.. Keywords Maize; Nutritional quality traits; Genetic basis; Genome-wide association study (GWAS); Candidate genes Corn is not only the cornerstone of global food production but also an important source of feed for humans and livestock. As the global population grows and nutritional needs increase, the nutritional value of corn has received unprecedented attention (Wallace et al., 2014). The nutritional components of corn, including protein, oil, vitamins, minerals, etc., are of great significance for improving human nutrition and health. Therefore, improving the nutritional quality of corn has become an important goal of today's agricultural research and breeding efforts. In this context, it is particularly important to understand the genetic mechanisms affecting nutritional quality traits of maize. The nutritional quality traits of maize are controlled by multiple genes, and the genetic complexity of these traits poses breeding challenges. In recent years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have become a powerful tool for analyzing the genetic basis of complex traits. GWAS can identify key genetic loci and candidate genes that affect traits by analyzing the association between genetic variation and trait variation. This method has been successfully applied in a variety of crops, revealing the genetic basis of many important traits and providing new strategies and targets for crop genetic improvement. However, although GWAS has made progress in maize genetic research (Prasanna et al., 2021), research on the genetic basis of nutritional quality traits still faces challenges. These challenges include the complexity of traits, the influence of environmental and genetic interactions, and the lack of efficient algorithms suitable for large-scale sample analysis. This study aims to use the GWAS method to deeply explore the genetic basis of corn nutritional quality traits (Sun et al., 2011). Through genome-wide scanning of a large number of genetically diverse maize samples, this study identified key genetic loci and candidate genes associated with maize nutritional quality traits. The purpose of this work is not only to improve our understanding of the genetic regulation mechanism of corn nutritional quality, but also to provide molecular markers for the improvement of corn nutritional quality, thereby promoting the breeding of high nutritional value corn varieties. We hope that these research results can support the direction of future corn breeding, especially in terms of improving global food security and nutrition, and providing corn with higher nutritional value for humans, livestock and poultry.
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