Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) Identifies Key Candidate Genes Associated with Leaf Size in Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.)

Ming Xu, Xueqian Jiang, Fei He, Bilig Sod, Tianhui Yang, Fan Zhang, Lili Cong, Ruicai Long, Mingna Li, Xue Wang, Qingchuan Yang, Tiejun Zhang () and Junmei Kang ()
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Ming Xu: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xueqian Jiang: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Fei He: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Bilig Sod: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Tianhui Yang: Institute of Animal Science, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan 750002, China
Fan Zhang: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Lili Cong: College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266000, China
Ruicai Long: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Mingna Li: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xue Wang: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Qingchuan Yang: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Tiejun Zhang: School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Junmei Kang: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Leaf size significantly impacts photosynthetic capacity and forage yield in alfalfa, a major legume forage crop. Therefore, elucidating the genetic factors governing leaf development is critical for breeding improved alfalfa varieties. In this study, a genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed to dissect the genetic architecture of leaf length (LL) and leaf width (LW) using 220 alfalfa accessions phenotyped over three years. Substantial variation for both traits was observed across environments, with coefficients of variation ranging from 10.09–16.53%. GWAS identified 26 significant SNPs associated with leaf morphology spread across seven chromosomes. Each SNP accounts for 9.7–15.6% of the phenotypic variance. Haplotype analyses confirmed positive correlations between the number of superior alleles and both LL and LW. BLAST searches revealed six candidate genes involved in leaf development within 20 kb flanking regions of significant SNPs. Our results provide novel marker-trait associations and candidate loci to facilitate molecular breeding efforts to optimize leaf size and improve productivity in alfalfa. This study establishes a foundation for integrating favorable alleles into future alfalfa varieties.

Keywords: alfalfa; GWAS; leaf size (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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