Li Shi;Xiangling Lv;Jianfeng Weng;Huayu Zhu;Changlin Liu;Hao Zhang;Yu Zhou;Degui Zhang;Mingshun Li;Xiaoke Ci;Xinhai Li;Shihuang Zhan

National Key Facility of Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;National Key Facility of Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, Chin;Wenshan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wenshan, Yunnan 663000, China;College of Agronomy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110161, China

Cercospora zeae-maydis;Maize;SNP;Genome-wide association study;Candidate genes;QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI;GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION;POPULATION-STRUCTURE;COMPLEX TRAITS;INBRED LINES;MARKERS;DISEASE;HAPLOTYPE;INFERENCE;PROTEIN

Gray leaf spot (GLS), caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis, is an important foliar disease of maize (Zeamays L.) worldwide, resistance towhich is controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL). To gain insights into the genetic architecture underlying the resistance to this disease, an association mapping population consisting of 161 inbred lines was evaluated for resistance to GLS in a plant pathology nursery at Shenyang in 2010 and 2011. Subsequently, a genome-wide association study, using 41,101 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified 51 SNPs significantly (P < 0.001) associated with GLS resistance, which could be converted into 31 QTL. In addition, three candidate genes related to plant defense were identified, including nucleotidebinding-site/leucine-rich repeat, receptor-like kinase genes similar to those involved in basal defense. Two genic SNPs, PZE-103142893 and PZE-109119001, associated with GLS resistance in chromosome bins 3.07 and 9.07, can be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of GLS resistance. These results provide an important resource for developing molecular markers closely linked with the target trait, enhancing breeding efficiency. (C) 2014 Crop Science Society of China and Institute of Crop Science, CAAS. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.