Leveraging trait and QTL covariates to improve genomic prediction of resistance to Fusarium head blight in Central European winter wheat
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat, causing yield losses, reduced grain quality, and mycotoxin contamination. Breeding can mitigate the severity of FHB epidemics, especially with genomics-assisted methods. The mechanisms underlying resistance to FHB in wheat have been extensively studied, including phenological traits and genome-wide markers associated with FHB severity. Here, we aimed to improve genomic prediction for FHB resistance across breeding programs by incorporating FHB-correlated traits and FHB-associated loci as model covariates. We combined phenotypic data on FHB severity, anthesis date, and plant height with genome-wide marker data from five Central European winter wheat breeding programs for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic prediction. Within all populations, FHB was correlated with anthesis date and/or plant height, and a marker linked to the semi-dwarfing locus <i>Rht-D1</i> was detected with GWAS for FHB. Including the <i>Rht-D1</i> marker, anthesis date, and/or plant height as covariates in genomic prediction modeling improved prediction accuracy not only within populations but also in cross-population scenarios.
Authors
- Josef Holzapfel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3207-2012)
- Franziska Löschenberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2984-4461)
- Julio Isidro y Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9044-3221)
- Sebastian Michel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6636-2694)
- Fahimeh Shahinnia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8236-7647)
- Vinay Kumar Reddy Nannuru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5776-8235)
- Laura Morales (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0403-035X)
- Anton Neumayer
- Hubert Kempf
- Deniz Akdemir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0553-6798)
- Hermann Buerstmayr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0748-2351)
- Morten Lillemo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8594-8794)
- Melanie Stadlmeier
- Lorenz Hartl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1448-3616)
- A. Girard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6220-5419)
Institutions
- National Marrow Donor Program (US)
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (CA)
- Government of Canada (CA)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture (DE)
- AustriaTech (Austria) (AT)
- Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (ES)
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO)
- BOKU University (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Published
- 2024-10-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1454473
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.80
Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Norges Forskningsråd
- Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación