Identification of DNA markers associated with P, Cu, K, Mo, Se elements in seeds through Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) in cultivated (Cicer arietinum L.) and wild (C. reticulatum L.) chickpea

Association mapping analysis is a powerful and efficient linkage disequilibrium (LD) based methodology for identification of marker-trait associations of complex quantitative traits. In this study genotyping by sequencing (GBS) analysis were performed by using a total of 180 individuals including 107 wild (C. reticulatum) and 73 cultivated (C. arietinum) Cicer species and 121.840 high-quality SNPs were identified. Population structure was identified as 2 main groups (K=2) by using STRUCTURE software for identified SNP markers. Marker-trait associations between identified SNPs and P, Cu, K, Mo and Se nutrient concentrations was determined by MLM(Q+K) analysis in Trait Analysis by Association, Evoluation and Linkage (TASSEL) software and statistically significant markers associated with 5 phenotypic traits were identified. This is the first association mapping study with wild and cultivated Cicer species for P, Cu, K, Mo and Se elements. The results of this study suggests that association mapping is a useful methodology for further association mapping, marker assisted selection and plant breeding studies. Keywords: Chickpea, C.reticulatum, C.arietinum, Association mapping, population structure, Linkage disequilibrium (LD), TASSEL