Genome-Wide Association Studies and Breeding by Design for Complex Traits in Diverse Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Background & history of this topic: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and breeding by design (BBD) are two popular topics at the moment. However, most studies only focus on identifying quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) for complex or polygenic traits. Recently, new statistical methods and tools have been developed to address this issue, including 3VmrMLM and Fast3VmrMLM. These methods make it possible to identify QTNs, as well as QTN-by-environment (QEIs) and QTN-by-QTN (QQIs) interactions, for complex traits in crop germplasm resources and genetic and breeding populations. The purpose of this Research Topic is to: (1) summarize the current advances in GWAS and BBD; (2) decipher the genetic basis of complex traits by identifying QTNs, QEIs, and QQIs; (3) dissect the phenotypic plasticity of complex traits in diverse environments; and (4) perform BBD, including mining novel alleles, superior germplasm, and superior hybrid combinations.

Aim and scope of the Special Issue: We welcome the submission of Review and Original Research Articles on the below subjects but not limited to:

• Reviews and perspectives of GWAS and BBD in plants
• Decipher the genetic basis of complex traits by identifying QTNs, QEIs, and QQIs in genome-wide association studies
• Dissect the phenotypic plasticity of complex traits in diverse environments
• Perform BBD with low cost, including mining novel alleles, superior germplasm, and superior hybrid combinations
• Biological function and molecular mechanism of novel genes mined by new GWAS methods

Cutting-edge research: phenotypic plasticity; breeding by design; gene-by-gene interaction

Kind of papers we are soliciting: Review; Article; Method

Prof. Dr. Yuan-Ming Zhang
Guest Editor

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