Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.

Analyses of the genetic distance and composition of inbred lines are a prerequisite for parental selection and to exploit heterosis in plant breeding programs. The study aimed to assess genetic diversity and population structure of a maize germplasm panel comprising 182 founder lines and 866 derived...

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Main Authors: Rodreck Gunundu, Hussein Shimelis, Seltene Abady Tesfamariam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315463
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author Rodreck Gunundu
Hussein Shimelis
Seltene Abady Tesfamariam
author_facet Rodreck Gunundu
Hussein Shimelis
Seltene Abady Tesfamariam
author_sort Rodreck Gunundu
collection DOAJ
description Analyses of the genetic distance and composition of inbred lines are a prerequisite for parental selection and to exploit heterosis in plant breeding programs. The study aimed to assess genetic diversity and population structure of a maize germplasm panel comprising 182 founder lines and 866 derived inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers to identify genetically unique lines for hybrid breeding. The founder lines were genotyped with 1201 SNPs, and the derived lines with 1484 SNPs. Moderate genetic variation, with genetic diversity ranging from 0.004 to 0.44 with a mean of 0.25, was recorded for the founder lines, while corresponding values of 0.004 to 0.34 with a mean of 0.13 were recorded for the derived lines. Heterozygosity values ranging from 0.00 to 0.24 and a mean of 0.08 were recorded for both lines. Of the SNP markers used, 82% of the 1201 markers and 84% of the 1484 markers exhibited polymorphism information content ranging from 0.25 to 0.50. Analysis of molecular variance revealed significant genetic differences (P ≤ 0.001) among and within populations in the founder and derived lines. Most detected variations, i.e., 97% and 88.38%, were attributed to within populations in the founder and derived lines, respectively. Population structure analysis identified three distinct subpopulations among founder lines and two among derived lines. Cluster analysis supported the population structure The following genetically distant founder and derived inbred lines were selected: G15NL337 and G15NL312 (Cluster 1), 15ARG152 and RGS-PL44 (Cluster 2), RGS-PL44 and 15ARG149 (Cluster 2), and RGS-PL33 and RGS-PL44 (Cluster 2), respectively. The selected lines are genetically distinct and recommended for marker-assisted hybrid maize breeding to exploit the frequency of beneficial alleles. This study provides valuable insights for maize breeding programs, enabling the exploitation of beneficial alleles and contributing to improved crop yields and food security through hybrid breeding.
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spelling doaj-art-40b25b687dd64da68e92de7d338670ec2025-02-05T05:32:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031546310.1371/journal.pone.0315463Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.Rodreck GununduHussein ShimelisSeltene Abady TesfamariamAnalyses of the genetic distance and composition of inbred lines are a prerequisite for parental selection and to exploit heterosis in plant breeding programs. The study aimed to assess genetic diversity and population structure of a maize germplasm panel comprising 182 founder lines and 866 derived inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers to identify genetically unique lines for hybrid breeding. The founder lines were genotyped with 1201 SNPs, and the derived lines with 1484 SNPs. Moderate genetic variation, with genetic diversity ranging from 0.004 to 0.44 with a mean of 0.25, was recorded for the founder lines, while corresponding values of 0.004 to 0.34 with a mean of 0.13 were recorded for the derived lines. Heterozygosity values ranging from 0.00 to 0.24 and a mean of 0.08 were recorded for both lines. Of the SNP markers used, 82% of the 1201 markers and 84% of the 1484 markers exhibited polymorphism information content ranging from 0.25 to 0.50. Analysis of molecular variance revealed significant genetic differences (P ≤ 0.001) among and within populations in the founder and derived lines. Most detected variations, i.e., 97% and 88.38%, were attributed to within populations in the founder and derived lines, respectively. Population structure analysis identified three distinct subpopulations among founder lines and two among derived lines. Cluster analysis supported the population structure The following genetically distant founder and derived inbred lines were selected: G15NL337 and G15NL312 (Cluster 1), 15ARG152 and RGS-PL44 (Cluster 2), RGS-PL44 and 15ARG149 (Cluster 2), and RGS-PL33 and RGS-PL44 (Cluster 2), respectively. The selected lines are genetically distinct and recommended for marker-assisted hybrid maize breeding to exploit the frequency of beneficial alleles. This study provides valuable insights for maize breeding programs, enabling the exploitation of beneficial alleles and contributing to improved crop yields and food security through hybrid breeding.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315463
spellingShingle Rodreck Gunundu
Hussein Shimelis
Seltene Abady Tesfamariam
Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
PLoS ONE
title Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
title_full Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
title_fullStr Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
title_full_unstemmed Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
title_short Genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.
title_sort genetic diversity and population structure analyses of tropical maize inbred lines using single nucleotide polymorphism markers
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315463
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AT husseinshimelis geneticdiversityandpopulationstructureanalysesoftropicalmaizeinbredlinesusingsinglenucleotidepolymorphismmarkers
AT selteneabadytesfamariam geneticdiversityandpopulationstructureanalysesoftropicalmaizeinbredlinesusingsinglenucleotidepolymorphismmarkers