Leveraging National Germplasm Collections to Determine Significantly Associated Categorical Traits in Crops: Upland and Pima Cotton as a Case Study

Observable qualitative traits are relatively stable across environments and are commonly used to evaluate crop genetic diversity. Recently, molecular markers have largely superseded describing phenotypes in diversity surveys. However, qualitative descriptors are useful in cataloging germplasm collections and for describing new germplasm in patents, publications, and/or the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) system. This research focused on the comparative analysis of standardized cotton traits as represented within the National Cotton Germplasm Collection (NCGC). The cotton traits are named by 'descriptors' that have non-numerical sub-categories (descriptor states) reflecting the details of how each trait manifests or is absent in the plant. We statistically assessed selected accessions from three major groups of Gossypium as defined by the NCGC curator: (1) "Stoneville accessions (SA)," containing mainly Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cultivars; (2) "Texas accessions (TEX)," containing mainly G. hirsutum landraces; and (3) Gossypium barbadense (Gb), containing cultivars or landraces of Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense). For 33 cotton descriptors we: (a) revealed distributions of character states for each descriptor within each group; (b) analyzed bivariate associations between paired descriptors; and (c) clustered accessions based on their descriptors. The fewest significant associations between descriptors occurred in the SA dataset, likely reflecting extensive breeding for cultivar development. In contrast, the TEX and Gb datasets showed a higher number of significant associations between descriptors, likely correlating with less impact from breeding efforts. Three significant bivariate associations were identified for all three groups, bract nectaries:boll nectaries, leaf hair:stem hair, and lint color:seed fuzz color. Unsupervised clustering analysis recapitulated the species labels for about 97% of the accessions. Unexpected clustering results indicated accessions that may benefit from potential further investigation. In the future, the significant associations between standardized descriptors can be used by curators to determine whether new exotic/unusual accessions most closely resemble Upland or Pima cotton. In addition, the study shows how existing descriptors for large germplasm datasets can be useful to inform downstream goals in breeding and research, such as identifying rare individuals with specific trait combinations and targeting breakdown of remaining trait associations through breeding, thus demonstrating the utility of the analytical methods employed in categorizing germplasm diversity within the collection.

Genome assembly of two nematode-resistant cotton lines (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is susceptible to damage by the root-knot and the reniform nematodes, causing yield losses greater than 4% annually in the United States. In addition, these nematodes are synergistic with seeding disease and root rot pathogens that exacerbate diseases and subsequent yield losses. Production practices to minimize nematode damage include crop rotation and nematicides, but these techniques need to be repeated and are expensive. The use of resistant cultivars is deemed the most effective and economical approach for managing nematodes in cotton. Here, we describe the genomes of two nematode-resistant lines of cotton, BARBREN-713 and BAR 32-30. These genomes may expedite the development of DNA markers that can be used to efficiently introduce nematode resistance into commercially valuable Upland lines.

Networks of Physiological Adjustments and Defenses, and Their Synergy With Sodium (Na+) Homeostasis Explain the Hidden Variation for Salinity Tolerance Across the Cultivated Gossypium hirsutum Germplasm

The abilities to mobilize and/or sequester excess ions within and outside the plant cell are important components of salt-tolerance mechanisms. Mobilization and sequestration of Na+ involves three transport systems facilitated by the plasma membrane H+/Na+ antiporter (SOS1), vacuolar H+/Na+ antiporter (NHX1), and Na+/K+ transporter in vascular tissues (HKT1). Many of these mechanisms are conserved across the plant kingdom. While Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton) is significantly more salt-tolerant relative to other crops, the critical factors contributing to the phenotypic variation hidden across the germplasm have not been fully unraveled. In this study, the spatio-temporal patterns of Na+ accumulation along with other physiological and biochemical interactions were investigated at different severities of salinity across a meaningful genetic diversity panel across cultivated upland Gossypium. The aim was to define the importance of holistic or integrated effects relative to the direct effects of Na+ homeostasis mechanisms mediated by GhHKT1, GhSOS1, and GhNHX1. Multi-dimensional physio-morphometric attributes were investigated in a systems-level context using univariate and multivariate statistics, randomForest, and path analysis. Results showed that mobilized or sequestered Na+ contributes significantly to the baseline tolerance mechanisms. However, the observed variance in overall tolerance potential across a meaningful diversity panel were more significantly attributed to antioxidant capacity, maintenance of stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, and divalent cation (Mg2+) contents other than Ca2+ through a complex interaction with Na+ homeostasis. The multi-tier macro-physiological, biochemical and molecular data generated in this study, and the networks of interactions uncovered strongly suggest that a complex physiological and biochemical synergy beyond the first-line-of defense (Na+ sequestration and mobilization) accounts for the total phenotypic variance across the primary germplasm of Gossypium hirsutum. These findings are consistent with the recently proposed Omnigenic Theory for quantitative traits and should contribute to a modern look at phenotypic selection for salt tolerance in cotton breeding.

Diversity analysis of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm using the CottonSNP63K Array

BACKGROUND

Cotton germplasm resources contain beneficial alleles that can be exploited to develop germplasm adapted to emerging environmental and climate conditions. Accessions and lines have traditionally been characterized based on phenotypes, but phenotypic profiles are limited by the cost, time, and space required to make visual observations and measurements. With advances in molecular genetic methods, genotypic profiles are increasingly able to identify differences among accessions due to the larger number of genetic markers that can be measured. A combination of both methods would greatly enhance our ability to characterize germplasm resources. Recent efforts have culminated in the identification of sufficient SNP markers to establish high-throughput genotyping systems, such as the CottonSNP63K array, which enables a researcher to efficiently analyze large numbers of SNP markers and obtain highly repeatable results. In the current investigation, we have utilized the SNP array for analyzing genetic diversity primarily among cotton cultivars, making comparisons to SSR-based phylogenetic analyses, and identifying loci associated with seed nutritional traits.

RESULTS

The SNP markers distinctly separated G. hirsutum from other Gossypium species and distinguished the wild from cultivated types of G. hirsutum. The markers also efficiently discerned differences among cultivars, which was the primary goal when designing the CottonSNP63K array. Population structure within the genus compared favorably with previous results obtained using SSR markers, and an association study identified loci linked to factors that affect cottonseed protein content.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide a large genome-wide variation data set for primarily cultivated cotton. Thousands of SNPs in representative cotton genotypes provide an opportunity to finely discriminate among cultivated cotton from around the world. The SNPs will be relevant as dense markers of genome variation for association mapping approaches aimed at correlating molecular polymorphisms with variation in phenotypic traits, as well as for molecular breeding approaches in cotton.

Genetic Diversity of the Two Commercial Tetraploid Cotton Species in the Gossypium Diversity Reference Set

A diversity reference set has been constructed for the Gossypium accessions in the US National Cotton Germplasm Collection to facilitate more extensive evaluation and utilization of accessions held in the Collection. A set of 105 mapped simple sequence repeat markers was used to study the allelic diversity of 1933 tetraploid Gossypium accessions representative of the range of diversity of the improved and wild accessions of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. The reference set contained 410 G. barbadense accessions and 1523 G. hirsutum accessions. Observed numbers of polymorphic and private bands indicated a greater diversity in G. hirsutum as compared to G. barbadense as well as in wild-type accessions as compared to improved accessions in both species. The markers clearly differentiated the 2 species. Patterns of diversity within species were observed but not clearly delineated, with much overlap occurring between races and regions of origin for wild accessions and between historical and geographic breeding pools for cultivated accessions. Although the percentage of accessions showing introgression was higher among wild accessions than cultivars in both species, the average level of introgression within individual accessions, as indicated by species-specific bands, was much higher in wild accessions of G. hirsutum than in wild accessions of G. barbadense. The average level of introgression within individual accessions was higher in improved G. barbadense cultivars than in G. hirsutum cultivars. This molecular characterization reveals the levels and distributions of genetic diversity that will allow for better exploration and utilization of cotton genetic resources.

Development of a 63K SNP Array for Cotton and High-Density Mapping of Intraspecific and Interspecific Populations of Gossypium spp

High-throughput genotyping arrays provide a standardized resource for plant breeding communities that are useful for a breadth of applications including high-density genetic mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genomic selection (GS), complex trait dissection, and studying patterns of genomic diversity among cultivars and wild accessions. We have developed the CottonSNP63K, an Illumina Infinium array containing assays for 45,104 putative intraspecific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for use within the cultivated cotton species Gossypium hirsutum L. and 17,954 putative interspecific SNP markers for use with crosses of other cotton species with G. hirsutum. The SNPs on the array were developed from 13 different discovery sets that represent a diverse range of G. hirsutum germplasm and five other species: G. barbadense L., G. tomentosum Nuttal × Seemann, G. mustelinum Miers × Watt, G. armourianum Kearny, and G. longicalyx J.B. Hutchinson and Lee. The array was validated with 1,156 samples to generate cluster positions to facilitate automated analysis of 38,822 polymorphic markers. Two high-density genetic maps containing a total of 22,829 SNPs were generated for two F2 mapping populations, one intraspecific and one interspecific, and 3,533 SNP markers were co-occurring in both maps. The produced intraspecific genetic map is the first saturated map that associates into 26 linkage groups corresponding to the number of cotton chromosomes for a cross between two G. hirsutum lines. The linkage maps were shown to have high levels of collinearity to the JGI G. raimondii Ulbrich reference genome sequence. The CottonSNP63K array, cluster file and associated marker sequences constitute a major new resource for the global cotton research community.

Molecular characterization of the Gossypium Diversity Reference Set of the US National Cotton Germplasm Collection

A core marker set containing markers developed to be informative within a single commercial cotton species can elucidate diversity structure within a multi-species subset of the Gossypium germplasm collection. An understanding of the genetic diversity of cotton (Gossypium spp.) as represented in the US National Cotton Germplasm Collection is essential to develop strategies for collecting, conserving, and utilizing these germplasm resources. The US collection is one of the largest world collections and includes not only accessions with improved yield and fiber quality within cultivated species, but also accessions possessing sources of abiotic and biotic stress resistance often found in wild species. We evaluated the genetic diversity of a subset of 272 diploid and 1,984 tetraploid accessions in the collection (designated the Gossypium Diversity Reference Set) using a core set of 105 microsatellite markers. Utility of the core set of markers in differentiating intra-genome variation was much greater in commercial tetraploid genomes (99.7 % polymorphic bands) than in wild diploid genomes (72.7 % polymorphic bands), and may have been influenced by pre-selection of markers for effectiveness in the commercial species. Principal coordinate analyses revealed that the marker set differentiated interspecific variation among tetraploid species, but was only capable of partially differentiating among species and genomes of the wild diploids. Putative species-specific marker bands in G. hirsutum (73) and G. barbadense (81) were identified that could be used for qualitative identification of misclassifications, redundancies, and introgression within commercial tetraploid species. The results of this broad-scale molecular characterization are essential to the management and conservation of the collection and provide insight and guidance in the use of the collection by the cotton research community in their cotton improvement efforts.

Sporogenic effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on development of Aspergillus spp

Aspergillus spp. are frequently occurring seed-colonizing fungi that complete their disease cycles through the development of asexual spores, which function as inocula, and through the formation of cleistothecia and sclerotia. We found that development of all three of these structures in Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus parasiticus is affected by linoleic acid and light. The specific morphological effects of linoleic acid include induction of precocious and increased asexual spore development in A. flavus and A. parasiticus strains and altered sclerotium production in some A. flavus strains in which sclerotium production decreases in the light but increases in the dark. In A. nidulans, both asexual spore production and sexual spore production were altered by linoleic acid. Spore development was induced in all three species by hydroperoxylinoleic acids, which are linoleic acid derivatives that are produced during fungal colonization of seeds. The sporogenic effects of these linoleic compounds on A. nidulans are similar to the sporogenic effects of A. nidulans psi factor, an endogenous mixture of hydroxylinoleic acid moieties. Light treatments also significantly increased asexual spore production in all three species. The sporogenic effects of light, linoleic acid, and linoleic acid derivatives on A. nidulans required an intact veA gene. The sporogenic effects of light and linoleic acid on Aspergillus spp., as well as members of other fungal genera, suggest that these factors may be significant environmental signals for fungal development.