Phenotypic Traits and Genome-Wide Association Study of Camellia sinensis Flowers

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Phenotypic Traits and Genome-Wide Association Study of Camellia sinensis Flowers

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Abstract

As the primary reproductive organ of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), the flower exhibits rich phenotypic diversity, which holds significant importance for the genetic improvement of tea varieties. In this study, 64 tea germplasm accessions were used to systematically investigate the phenotypic diversity of nine qualitative traits and twelve quantitative traits related to floral morphology. Based on 47 111 high-quality SNP markers, population genetic structure analysis and genome-wide association study (GWAS) were performed. The results revealed abundant genetic diversity in floral traits among the tested materials, with ovary villi, weight per 100 flowers, and the proportion of the bifurcation to the columella showing relatively large variation, which could serve as core evaluation indicators. Population structure analysis divided the materials into three genetic subgroups, which were highly consistent with the phenotypic clustering results. Through GWAS, 273 SNP loci significantly associated with 10 important floral traits were identified. Furthermore, five core candidate genes (GWHTASIV003067, GWHTASIV018433, GWHTASIV032688, GWHTASIV001183, GWHTASIV044042) were screened, which are involved in key biological processes such as growth regulation, RNA editing, cell cycle control, chromatin remodeling, and transcriptional regulation. This study provides, for the first time, a systematic multidimensional analysis of the genetic basis of floral traits in tea plants, offering important gene resources and a theoretical foundation for research into the molecular mechanisms of floral traits and for molecular marker-assisted breeding in tea plant.

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Camellia sinensis, flower, genetic diversity, genome-wide association study (GWAS), candidate gene

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YANG Hong^{1, 2, 3}, SHAO Chenyu¹, YAO Lin^{1, 2, 3}, RAO Jiayi^{1, 2, 3}, PENG Lüwen^{1, 2, 3}, HUANG Feiyi^{2, 3}, DUAN Jihua^{2, 3}, XIE Nianci^{2, 3}, CHEN Yuhong^{2, 3}, LI Saijun^{2, 3}, LIU Shuoqian^{1, 2}, LEI Yu^{1, 2}. Phenotypic Traits and Genome-Wide Association Study of Camellia sinensis Flowers[J]. Journal of Tea Science. 0

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