Multiple marker-traits associations for maize agronomic traits

Association analysis is a relatively novel approach in quantitative traits studies that allows high resolution mapping and time efficient and direct application on breeding material. Since the markers, which are close to the quantitative trait loci stable across environments and genetic BACKGROUND: s, may be valuable for marker assisted selection, we chose microsatellite markers previously linked to traits of interest in various mapping studies. A set of 36 microsatellite markers positioned near important maize (Zea mays L.) agronomic loci was used to evaluate genetic diversity and determine population structure. To verify the associations between the markers and traits, a panel of diverse maize inbred lines was genotyped with microsatellites and phenotyped for flowering time, yield and yield components. A relatively high level of polymorphism detected in number of alleles per locus (8.2), average polymorphic information content value (0.64), and average gene diversity (0.684) lines showed the analyzed panel of maize inbred contained significant genetic diversity and was suitable for association mapping. The population structure estimated by model-based clustering method grouped maize inbred lines into three clusters. The association analysis using the general linear and mixed linear models determined significant correlations between several agronomic traits and three microsatellites on chromosomes 3, 5, and 8, namely umc1025, bnlg1237, and bnlg162 consistent across the environments, explaining from 4.7% to 18.2% of total phenotypic variations. The results suggest that the chromosome regions containing quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with multiple yield-related traits consistently across environments are potentially important targets for selection