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Marker‐trait association analysis for postharvest needle retention/abscission in balsam fir ( Abies balsamea )
Author(s) -
Jose Sherin,
Lada Rajasekaran R.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plant breeding
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1439-0523
pISSN - 0179-9541
DOI - 10.1111/pbr.12709
Subject(s) - balsam , biology , abies balsamea , abscission , christmas tree , single nucleotide polymorphism , population , snp , trait , botany , horticulture , genotype , genetics , gene , medicine , environmental health , computer science , programming language
Balsam fir the principal tree species of the Christmas tree industry, is a major export commodity of Atlantic Canada region. However, postharvest needle abscission poses a main concern leading to low consumer satisfaction and a shift in preference towards artificial trees. The search for diverse balsam fir lines with high needle retention is very crucial for quality improvement programmes. In this regard, a panel of 75 balsam fir genotypes exhibiting diversity for needle retention traits were randomly selected from a set of 220 genotypes evaluated for needle retention characteristics for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013) and genotyped with 41 bi‐allelic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)/insertion/deletion markers. The cluster analysis and population structure identified four and seven subpopulations. We observed an SNP marker with significant association ( p < 0.05) with the needle retention/abscission trait by using general linear model and mixed linear model approaches. The present study lays the foundation for analysing the genetic mechanisms underlying needle retention/abscission, as well as the use of molecular markers to target specific traits in balsam fir.