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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (5): 1939-1948    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.12.044
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Genome-wide association study of sucrose content and stem diameter in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.)

Fenggang Zan1, 2*, Zhuandi Wu1, 2*, Chengcai Xia3, 4*, Long Zhao3, 4, Qi Liu3, 4, Zihao Wang3, 4, Yanjie Lu3, 4, Meiling Zou3, 4, Yong Zhao1, 2, Peifang Zhao1, 2, Xuan Luo3, 4, Jiayong Liu1, 2# , Zhiqiang Xia1, 3, 4#

1 National Key Laboratory for Tropical Crop Breeding, Kunming 650205, China

2 Sugarcane Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Yunnan Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement, Kaiyuan 661699, China

3 School of  Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of  Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China

4 School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China

 Highlights 
Sucrose content and stem diameter of 292 sugarcane germplasm resources were determined.
A total of 46 SNPs associated with the phenotypic traits were identified through genome-wide association analysis.
Twenty-six candidate genes related to the target traits were detected.
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摘要  

甘蔗是主要的糖料作物,提高其蔗糖含量是育种的核心目标。然而,甘蔗复杂的遗传背景制约了杂交育种的进程。本研究对292份甘蔗种质资源进行测序,鉴定出2,542,965 个单核苷酸多态性位点(SNP)和插入/缺失变异(InDel)。针对蔗糖含量与茎径这两个重要农艺性状,开展全基因组关联分析。结果显示,两个性状均符合正态分布,呈现典型的数量性状特征。群体结构分析将供试材料划分为4个亚群,平均遗传距离为0.236。蔗糖含量的全基因组关联分析筛选出27个显著关联的SNP位点,通过对显著位点及其邻近区域的基因进行注释,鉴定得到17个候选基因;针对茎径的全基因组关联分析筛选出19个显著关联的SNP位点,并从中鉴定出9个候选基因。这些研究结果加深了对甘蔗蔗糖含量调控遗传机制的理解,同时挖掘出重要遗传资源,为加快高蔗糖含量甘蔗新品种的育种进程提供支撑。



Abstract  

Increasing the sucrose content of sugarcane, a major sugar crop, is a key breeding objective.  However, the complex genetic background of sugarcane affects development of sugarcane hybrids.  In this study, we sequenced 292 sugarcane germplasm accessions and identified 2,542,965 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels).  We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for two important sugarcane traits: sucrose content and stem diameter.  Both traits followed a normal distribution and showed typical characteristics of quantitative traits.  Population structure analysis revealed four subpopulations with an average genetic distance of 0.236.  GWAS of the sucrose content detected 27 SNPs.  After annotating genes at or near significant loci, 17 candidate genes were screened.  For stem diameter, GWAS revealed 19 SNPs, from which 9 candidate genes were identified.  These results improve our understanding of genetic mechanisms affecting sucrose content in sugarcane, and identify important genetic resources to accelerate breeding of new sugarcane varieties with high sucrose content.


Keywords:  sugarcane       sucrose content       stem diameter       genome-Wide Association Analysis  
Received: 27 November 2024   Accepted: 29 August 2025 Online: 26 December 2025  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32060505, 31660418), the Project of National Key Laboratory for Tropical Crop Breeding, China (NKLTCB202318), the Yunnan Seed Laboratory, China (202205AR070001-13), the Technology Innovation Talents in Yunnan Province, China (202305AD160041), the National Sugar Industry Technology System, China (CARS-170101) and the High-performance Computing Platform of YaZhou Bay Science and Technology City Advanced Computation Center, China.

About author:  #Correspondence Jiayong Liu, E-mail: lljjyy1976@163.com; Zhiqiang Xia, E-mail: zqiangx@gmail.com * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Fenggang Zan, Zhuandi Wu, Chengcai Xia, Long Zhao, Qi Liu, Zihao Wang, Yanjie Lu, Meiling Zou, Yong Zhao, Peifang Zhao, Xuan Luo, Jiayong Liu, Zhiqiang Xia. 2026. Genome-wide association study of sucrose content and stem diameter in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 25(5): 1939-1948.

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