International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 66-77 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 66 Review and Progress Open Access The Role of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) in Vegetable Crop Genetic Improvement: from Yield to Nutritional Value YuanLiu Modern Agricultural Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: natasha20201514@hotmail.com International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0008 Received: 02 Mar., 2024 Accepted: 08 Apr., 2024 Published: 18 Apr., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Liu, 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: Liu Y., 2024, The role of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in vegetable crop genetic improvement: from yield to nutritional value, International Journal of Horticulture, 14(2): 66-77 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0008) Abstract The application of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) in the field of vegetable crop genetic improvement has matured, providing powerful tools to elucidate the genetic basis of traits such as yield, nutritional value, disease resistance, and adaptability. This review explores the role of GWAS in vegetable crop genetic improvement, particularly in identifying key genetic markers to enhance yield and improve nutritional value. By analyzing current research progress, this study discusses how GWAS aids scientists in precisely locating genes or genomic regions controlling significant agronomic traits, thereby optimizing breeding strategies and enhancing crop performance. The research also addresses the technical and methodological challenges faced in genetic improvement, as well as future directions, including the integration of multi-omics data and gene-editing technologies to accelerate the improvement of vegetable varieties. This study aims to distill key insights by comprehensively analyzing the application of GWAS in vegetable crop genetic improvement, providing a scientific basis for future research directions and their profound impact on the field of agricultural genetics. Keywords Genome-wide association studies (GWAS); Vegetable crops; Genetic improvement; Yield; Nutritional value With the growth of the global population and the increasing emphasis on healthy dietary choices, the demand for vegetable crops is on a continuous upward trend. As a crucial source of nutrition, vegetables play an essential role in ensuring global food security and meeting the growing nutritional needs. Facing this increasing demand, agricultural production faces multiple challenges, such as improving production efficiency, enhancing crop adaptability to the environment, and increasing resistance to pests and diseases (Basile et al., 2023). These challenges have driven the development and application of genetic improvement techniques, a strategy aimed at optimizing crop genetic characteristics to increase yield, enhance disease resistance, and enrich nutritional value. Genetic improvement not only helps improve overall crop performance but is also crucial for the sustainable development of agriculture. Research has shown that through scientific genetic improvement strategies, these challenges can be effectively addressed, thereby stabilizing and increasing global vegetable production (Zhao et al., 2019). This approach is not only significant for current agricultural production models but also lays the foundation for future food supply chains and nutritional security. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) is a powerful genetic method that elucidates the link between genes and phenotypes by identifying genetic variations associated with specific traits across the entire genome. The basic principle of GWAS is to utilize natural genetic variations in a large sample population and use statistical analysis to determine which genetic markers are closely associated with the target trait. Over the past few decades, GWAS has made significant progress in crop improvement research, particularly in elucidating the genetic factors affecting crop yield, disease resistance, and nutritional composition. For example, in soybeans, GWAS identified genes associated with resistance to charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina), providing new information for improving soybean varieties (Coser et al., 2017). Furthermore, the application of GWAS is not limited to the improvement of a single trait. In terms of comprehensive multi-trait improvement, such as simultaneously improving crop yield, disease resistance, and nutritional composition, GWAS has also shown tremendous potential. For instance, GWAS studies on tomatoes have not only revealed genes influencing fruit size and yield
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