Aneela Nijaba

Title : Genome-Wide association study (GWAS) for heat tolerance for yield contributing root traits in diverse carrot [Daucus carota (L.)] Germplasm

Abstract:

Carrot is a cool season crop requires low temperature from seed germination till root formation and therefore, high temperature causes significant yield reduction. A total of 215 carrot accessions collected from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) collection of Plant Introductions (PIs) were evaluated under heat stress. To our knowledge, this work provides the first genome-wide association study in carrot population. Using Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS), we identified a total of 7178 high quality biallelic Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that were used to perform a Genome-Wide Association Analysis (GWAS) in 171 carrot accessions for heat tolerance. A total of 10 significant genomic regions were identified and the 47 genes located within these regions whose functional annotations are potentially related to heat tolerance were characterized. We provide a new insight on genomic regions and candidate genes that are involved in heat tolerance adaptation in carrot germplasm. There is need to confirm these potential genes utilizing functional analyses, as they might be a valuable resource for marker assisted selection in carrot breeding.

Biography:

Dr. Aneela Nijabat studied Botany at the University of Sargodha, Pakistan and graduated as MS in 2015. She then joined the research group of Prof. Dr. Philipp W. Simon at the Institute of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA for her PhD research project. She received her PhD degree in 2021 at the University of Sargodha, Pakistan. She obtained the position of Lecturer at the Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. After one year, She obtained the position of an Assistant Professor at the University of Mianwali, Pakistan. She has published more than 35 research articles in SCI(E) journals.