Abstract Detail

Crops and Wild Relatives

Blevins, Orion [1], Bahmani, Keivan [2], Davis, Rebekah [3], Mason, Chase [4].

Quantifying diversity in leaf terpenoid profiles across cultivated sunflower breeding pools.

Terpenoid compounds are critical primary and secondary metabolites in plants. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are the most abundant volatile compounds produced by cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus), and these volatiles are known to play vital roles in plant defense against disease and herbivory, mediation of plant-plant signaling, and attraction of pollinators. Given these diverse roles in biotic interactions, understanding the genetic architecture underlying terpenoid abundance and relative volatile profile composition is a valuable avenue to leveraging phytochemistry for crop improvement. Using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass-spectrometry, we are quantifying leaf terpenoid profiles across the Sunflower Association Mapping panel, a diverse collection of 288 inbred lines capturing the majority of breeding pool diversity present in the American USDA and French INRA germplasm repositories. Once complete, genome-wide association mapping performed using both coarse (5700 SNPs) and fine-scale (1.4 million SNPs) genetic maps will permit the identification of the genetic architecture of terpenoid profile diversity, including the identification of candidate genes using the fine-grained genetic map. Results to date are presented, including quantification of the degree of variability for individual terpenoid compounds in the context of the broader sunflower monoterpenoid and sesquiterpenoid biosynthetic pathways.

Related Links:
Mason Lab website

1 - University Of Central Florida, Department Of Biology, 4110 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, United States
2 - University Of Central Florida, Biological Sciences, 4110 Libra Dr, Orlando, FL, 32816, United States
3 - University Of Central Florida, Biology, 4110 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32817, United States
4 - University Of Central Florida, Department Of Biology, 4110 Libra Dr, Orlando, FL, 32816, United States

Keywords:
GC-MS
sunflower
terpenes
genetic architecture
breeding pool
germplasm
Helianthus
monoterpenes
sesquiterpenes
leaf
Diversity.

Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PCW004
Abstract ID:355
Candidate for Awards:None