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Combining quantitative trait loci analysis with physiological models to predict genotype-specific transpiration
Gretchen A Reuning1, William L Bauerle, Jack L Mullen
1Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1173, USA.
Plant, Cell & Environment
|August 16, 2014
Summary
Genetic variation in minimum stomatal conductance (g0) influences plant transpiration. Models predicting transpiration using g0 genetic effects showed limitations in complex populations due to genotype-environment interactions and polygenic inheritance.
Area of Science:
- Plant physiology
- Genetics
- Computational biology
Background:
- Transpiration, crucial for plant survival, is regulated by stomatal conductance (gs).
- Minimum stomatal conductance (g0) is a key parameter in transpiration models and exhibits significant genetic variation.
- Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for g0 have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and test a genetically parameterized empirical model for predicting plant transpiration.
- To assess the accuracy of the model in predicting transpiration in different genetic populations.
- To investigate the influence of genetic factors and their interactions on transpiration.
Main Methods:
- Development of an empirical model for transpiration prediction using genetic data for minimum stomatal conductance (g0).
- Testing the model's predictive accuracy on parental lines and a recombinant inbred population of Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Analysis of genotype by environment interactions and polygenic inheritance affecting stomatal conductance.
Main Results:
- The genetically parameterized model accurately predicted transpiration in parental lines.
- Model predictions were less accurate in a recombinant inbred population.
- Genotype distinctiveness at a single g0 QTL was less pronounced than predicted, indicating complex genetic control.
Conclusions:
- Genotype by environment interactions and polygenic inheritance complicate the direct application of genetic effects into physiological transpiration models.
- Further research into the genetic control of core traits underlying stomatal conductance is needed for improved ecophysiological models.
- Accurate prediction of transpiration in novel genetic lines requires a deeper understanding of the genetic architecture of stomatal regulation.
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