부산대학교 도서관

SUMMARY: Investigating crop diversity through genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) on core collections helps in deciphering the genetic determinants of complex quantitative traits. Using the G2P‐SOL project world collection of 10 038 wild and cultivated Capsicum accessions from 10 major genebanks, we assembled a core collection of 423 accessions representing the known genetic diversity. Since complex traits are often highly dependent upon environmental variables and genotype‐by‐environment (G × E) interactions, multi‐environment GWAS with a 10 195‐marker genotypic matrix were conducted on a highly diverse subset of 350 Capsicum annuum accessions, extensively phenotyped in up to six independent trials from five climatically differing countries. Environment‐specific and multi‐environment quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for 23 diverse agronomic traits. We identified 97 candidate genes potentially implicated in 53 of the most robust and high‐confidence QTLs for fruit flavor, color, size, and shape traits, and for plant productivity, vigor, and earliness traits. Investigating the genetic architecture of agronomic traits in this way will assist the development of genetic markers and pave the way for marker‐assisted selection. The G2P‐SOL pepper core collection will be available upon request as a unique and universal resource for further exploitation in future gene discovery and marker‐assisted breeding efforts by the pepper community. Significance Statement: Multi‐environment trials in climatically differing countries are critical for identifying robust genotype–phenotype associations useful for crop breeders. We constructed a core collection representative of the Capsicum diversity held in European and Asian genebanks to understand the global diversity of pepper, and revealed 97 already known and new genes potentially underlying 53 of the highest‐confidence quantitative trait loci in various environments, for many fruit and plant development traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]