Genome-Wide Association Studies and Breeding by Design for Complex Traits in Diverse Environments
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 251
Editor
Interests: quantitative genetics; genome-wide association studies; genetic dissection of complex traits; breeding by design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
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
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- polygenic traits
- genome-wide association study
- QTN
- QTN-by-environment interaction
- phenotypic plasticity
- gene-by-gene interaction
- gene network
- breeding by design
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
