Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41162847›Full record

ArticleBMC plant biology2025

Meta-QTL analysis for mining key genes associated with seed oil content in maize.

Zilong Zhao, Ke Li, Wei Wang, Fei Yi, Nan Zheng, Jinsheng Lai, Qiujie Liu, Jian Chen

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC plant biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Zilong ZhaoFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Ke LiFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Wei WangState Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, Ministry of Education &College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Fei YiState Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, Engineering Research Center of Plant Growth Regulator, Ministry of Education &College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Nan ZhengBeijing Canal Huinong Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd, Beijing, 101109, China.
Jinsheng LaiFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Qiujie LiuFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Jian ChenFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding, National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. jianchen@cau.edu.cn.

Funding

Beijing Rural Revitalization Agricultural Science and Technology Project Z231100003723004Biological Breeding-National Science and Technology Major Project 2023ZD04069
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMaize seed oil plays a significant role in human nutrition, animal feed, and bioenergy applications. Despite extensive quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies conducted on this trait, the broad confidence intervals of the identified QTLs have made it difficult to precisely pinpoint candidate genes, thereby limiting their practical application in high-oil maize breeding.

resultsIn this study, we integrated QTL data related to maize seed oil content reported over the past two decades, compiling a total of 339 QTLs from 31 studies. By integrating high-density genetic linkage maps, 72 oil content-related meta-QTLs (MQTLs) were identified. Compared with previous studies on seed oil content QTLs, the average confidence interval of the MQTLs was reduced by 5.89-fold. Through colocalization analysis with genome-wide association study (GWAS) marker-trait associations (MTAs), over 60% of the MQTLs were validated by GWAS-MTAs. Additionally, four known functional genes were identified within the MQTL regions, and 44 candidate genes were further uncovered through homologous gene comparison. These genes are likely involved in critical biological processes such as transcriptional regulation (e.g., CADTFR7), fatty acid biosynthesis (e.g., Zm00001d036137), and material transport (e.g., Zm00001d013817), thereby influencing seed oil content accumulation.

conclusionsCollectively, these findings provide valuable insights into the genetic regulation of maize seed oil content and offer potential molecular targets for the development of high-oil maize varieties.

Indexed as

Corn OilGenes, PlantPlant OilsQuantitative Trait LociSeedsZea maysChromosome MappingGenome-Wide Association StudyCorn OilPlant OilsCandidate genesMaizeMeta-QTLSeed oil content

Identifiers

PMID41162847
PMCPMC12574132

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