Genome-wide association study (GWAS) of leaf wax components of apple

Abstract The wax layer of apple leaves plays an important role in improving stress resistance, but relatively little is known about the mechanisms synthesis and transport leaves. In this study, 17 components, including alcohols, alkanes, fatty acids terpenes, were analyzed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from 123 germplasms. Whole-genome sequencing these accessions yielded 5.9 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on components identified several genes related to transport, MdSHN1 ( SHINE1) , MdLTP4 (LIPID TRANSFER PROTEIN4) MdWSD1 WAX ESTER SYNTHASE/ACYL-COA DIAC-YLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE1) MdRDR1 (RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE1) MdACBP6 (ACYL-COA-BINDING PROTEIN6) MdNLE (NOTCHLESS) MdABCG21 ATP-BINDING CASSETTE G21) . Moreover, we some prominent SNPs that may affect gene expression protein function. These results provide insights into broaden genetic resources basis for facilitating resistance breeding.