Postdoc Fellow University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, Missouri
Body of Abstract: Seeds of staple crops are an important nutritional source, but most are insufficient in several essential amino acids (EAAs) required for both human and animal diets. Manipulation of the composition of seed free amino acids (FAA) and protein-bound amino acids (PBAA) have proven challenging, as attempts to alter them typically resulted in minimal changes and undesirable effects on other agronomic traits. However, despite the robustness in a given genotype, natural variations in FAA and PBAA composition have been observed across natural and artificial populations, indicating the involvement of a complex genetic network that can be manipulated for optimal seed amino acid composition. In this study, we harnessed natural variation in the Arabidopsis seed model system to gain insight into the genetic regulation of PBAA composition and its potential interplay with FAA. The genetic and phenotypic diversities of the Arabidopsis 1001 population were harnessed to complete GWAS on 274 derived biochemical traits. Our data revealed that the genetic architecture of FAA and PBAA showed limited overlap, suggesting distinct metabolic and genetic regulation. Nevertheless, one QTL was strongly associated with multiple FAA and PBAA-related traits, highlighting its crucial role in amino acid metabolism. Further investigation on the three genes associated with this key QTL is elaborated below. The results from this study serve as a valuable resource to further investigate the genetic factors influencing seed amino acid composition.