A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency

Abstract Novel sources of genetic variability for water‐use efficiency (WUE) are needed in order to breed varieties more suitable to sustainable cropping systems. Here, a maize (Zea mays L.) introgression library of the landrace Gaspé Flint into the reference line B73 was characterized in high‐throu...

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Main Authors: Giuseppe Sciara, Francesco Camerlengo, Claude Welcker, Llorenç Cabrera‐Bosquet, Antonin Grau, Maria Angela Cané, Riccardo Bovina, Francois Tardieu, Roberto Tuberosa, Silvio Salvi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:The Plant Genome
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.70036
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author Giuseppe Sciara
Francesco Camerlengo
Claude Welcker
Llorenç Cabrera‐Bosquet
Antonin Grau
Maria Angela Cané
Riccardo Bovina
Francois Tardieu
Roberto Tuberosa
Silvio Salvi
author_facet Giuseppe Sciara
Francesco Camerlengo
Claude Welcker
Llorenç Cabrera‐Bosquet
Antonin Grau
Maria Angela Cané
Riccardo Bovina
Francois Tardieu
Roberto Tuberosa
Silvio Salvi
author_sort Giuseppe Sciara
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Novel sources of genetic variability for water‐use efficiency (WUE) are needed in order to breed varieties more suitable to sustainable cropping systems. Here, a maize (Zea mays L.) introgression library of the landrace Gaspé Flint into the reference line B73 was characterized in high‐throughput phenotyping platforms, both in well‐watered and moderate water‐deficit conditions, for water use, WUE, and root and shoot growth. Traits heritability ranged from 0.77 to 0.93. The introgression of Gaspé Flint chromosome segments into the B73 genome significantly altered several traits. Some introgression lines exhibited a faster shoot biomass accumulation than B73, resulting in higher WUE at the expense of root growth. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping identified seven major QTL clusters affecting shoot growth and WUE, two of which overlapped, with opposite effects, with QTLs for root biomass known to include root developmental genes. These results support the non‐intuitive hypothesis that reduced root‐to‐shoot ratio positively affects maize WUE.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1940-3372
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publishDate 2025-06-01
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series The Plant Genome
spelling doaj-art-e916296924544e96a3cf0090411df7e52025-08-20T03:24:44ZengWileyThe Plant Genome1940-33722025-06-01182n/an/a10.1002/tpg2.70036A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiencyGiuseppe Sciara0Francesco Camerlengo1Claude Welcker2Llorenç Cabrera‐Bosquet3Antonin Grau4Maria Angela Cané5Riccardo Bovina6Francois Tardieu7Roberto Tuberosa8Silvio Salvi9Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyINRAE, LEPSE Université de Montpellier Montpellier FranceINRAE, LEPSE Université de Montpellier Montpellier FranceINRAE, LEPSE Université de Montpellier Montpellier FranceDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyINRAE, LEPSE Université de Montpellier Montpellier FranceDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences University of Bologna Bologna ItalyAbstract Novel sources of genetic variability for water‐use efficiency (WUE) are needed in order to breed varieties more suitable to sustainable cropping systems. Here, a maize (Zea mays L.) introgression library of the landrace Gaspé Flint into the reference line B73 was characterized in high‐throughput phenotyping platforms, both in well‐watered and moderate water‐deficit conditions, for water use, WUE, and root and shoot growth. Traits heritability ranged from 0.77 to 0.93. The introgression of Gaspé Flint chromosome segments into the B73 genome significantly altered several traits. Some introgression lines exhibited a faster shoot biomass accumulation than B73, resulting in higher WUE at the expense of root growth. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping identified seven major QTL clusters affecting shoot growth and WUE, two of which overlapped, with opposite effects, with QTLs for root biomass known to include root developmental genes. These results support the non‐intuitive hypothesis that reduced root‐to‐shoot ratio positively affects maize WUE.https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.70036
spellingShingle Giuseppe Sciara
Francesco Camerlengo
Claude Welcker
Llorenç Cabrera‐Bosquet
Antonin Grau
Maria Angela Cané
Riccardo Bovina
Francois Tardieu
Roberto Tuberosa
Silvio Salvi
A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
The Plant Genome
title A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
title_full A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
title_fullStr A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
title_full_unstemmed A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
title_short A maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root‐to‐shoot ratio on water‐use efficiency
title_sort maize landrace introgression library reveals a negative effect of root to shoot ratio on water use efficiency
url https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.70036
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