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Semagn, K.

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Semagn
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Semagn, K.

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • High-resolution genetic mapping of maize pan-genome sequence anchors
    (Nature Research, 2015) Fei Lu; Romay, M.C.; Glaubitz, J.C.; Bradbury, P.; Elshire, R.; Wang, T.; Yu Li; Yongxiang Li; Semagn, K.; Xuecai Zhang; Hernandez, A.; Mikel, M.A.; Soifer, I.; Barad, O.; Buckler, E.
    In addition to single-nucleotide polymorphisms, structural variation is abundant in many plant genomes. The structural variation across a species can be represented by a ‘pan-genome’, which is essential to fully understand the genetic control of phenotypes. However, the pan-genome’s complexity hinders its accurate assembly via sequence alignment. Here we demonstrate an approach to facilitate pan-genome construction in maize. By performing 18 trillion association tests we map 26 million tags generated by reduced representation sequencing of 14,129 maize inbred lines. Using machine-learning models we select 4.4 million accurately mapped tags as sequence anchors, 1.1 million of which are presence/absence variations. Structural variations exhibit enriched association with phenotypic traits, indicating that it is a significant source of adaptive variation in maize. The ability to efficiently map ultrahigh-density pan-genome sequence anchors enables fine characterization of structural variation and will advance both genetic research and breeding in many crops.
    Publication
  • Genetic variation and population structure of maize inbred lines adapted to the mid-altitude sub-humid maize agro-ecology of Ethiopia using single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers
    (BioMed Central, 2017) Tadesse, B.; Semagn, K.; Das, B.; Olsen, M.; Labuschagne, M.; Regasa, M.W.; Dagne Wegary Gissa; Azmach, G.; Ogugo, V.; Keno, T.; Abebe, B.; Chibsa, T.; Menkir, A.
    Molecular characterization is important for efficient utilization of germplasm and development of improved varieties. In the present study, we investigated the genetic purity, relatedness and population structure of 265 maize inbred lines from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) using 220,878 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers obtained using genotyping by sequencing (GBS). Only 22% of the inbred lines were considered pure with <5% heterogeneity, while the remaining 78% of the inbred lines had a heterogeneity ranging from 5.1 to 31.5%. Pairwise genetic distances among the 265 inbred lines varied from 0.011 to 0.345, with 89% of the pairs falling between 0.301 and 0.345. Only <1% of the pairs had a genetic distance lower than 0.200, which included 14 pairs of sister lines that were nearly identical. Relative kinship analysis showed that the kinship coefficients for 59% of the pairs of lines was close to zero, which agrees with the genetic distance estimates. Principal coordinate analysis, discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and the model-based population structure analysis consistently suggested the presence of three groups, which generally agreed with pedigree information (genetic background). Although not distinct enough, the SNP markers showed some level of separation between the two CIMMYT heterotic groups A and B established based on pedigree and combining ability information. The high level of heterogeneity detected in most of the inbred lines suggested the requirement for purification or further inbreeding except those deliberately maintained at early inbreeding level. The genetic distance and relative kinship analysis clearly indicated the uniqueness of most of the inbred lines in the maize germplasm available for breeders in the mid-altitude maize breeding program of Ethiopia. Results from the present study facilitate the maize breeding work in Ethiopia and germplasm exchange among breeding programs in Africa. We suggest the incorporation of high density molecular marker information in future heterotic group assignments.
    Publication
  • Molecular characterization of CIMMYT maize inbred lines with genotyping-by-sequencing SNPs
    (Springer, 2016) Yongsheng Wu; Kaijian Huang; Costich, D.E.; Semagn, K.; Babu, R.; San Vicente Garcia, F.M.; Prasanna, B.M.; Nair, S.K.; Olsen, M.; Dhliwayo, T.; Xuecai Zhang
    CIMMYT maize inbred lines (CMLs) have been widely used all over the world and have contributed greatly to both tropical and temperate maize improvement. Genetic diversity and population structure of the current CML collection and of six temperate inbred lines were assessed and relationships among all lines were determined with genotyping-by-sequencing SNPs. Results indicated that: (1) wider genetic distance and low kinship coefficients among most pairs of lines reflected the uniqueness of most lines in the current CML collection; (2) the population structure and genetic divergence between the Temperate subgroup and Tropical subgroups were clear; three major environmental adaptation groups (Lowland Tropical, Subtropical/Mid-altitude and Highland Tropical subgroups) were clearly present in the current CML collection; (3) the genetic diversity of the three Tropical subgroups was similar and greater than that of the Temperate subgroup; the average genetic distance between the Temperate and Tropical subgroups was greater than among Tropical subgroups; and (4) heterotic patterns in each environmental adaptation group estimated using GBS SNPs were only partially consistent with patterns estimated based on combining ability tests and pedigree information. Combining current heterotic information based on combining ability tests and the genetic relationships inferred from molecular marker analyses may be the best strategy to define heterotic groups for future tropical maize improvement. Information resulting from this research will help breeders to better understand how to utilize all the CMLs to select parental lines, replace testers, assign heterotic groups and create a core set of breeding germplasm.
    Publication
  • Molecular characterization of diverse CIMMYT maize inbred lines from eastern and southern Africa using single nucleotide polymorphic markers
    (BioMed Central, 2012) Semagn, K.; Magorokosho, C.; Vivek, B.; Makumbi, D.; Beyene, Y.; Mugo, S.N.; Prasanna, B.M.; Warburton, M.
    Background: Knowledge of germplasm diversity and relationships among elite breeding materials is fundamentally important in crop improvement. We genotyped 450 maize inbred lines developed and/or widely used by CIMMYT breeding programs in both Kenya and Zimbabwe using 1065 SNP markers to (i) investigate population structure and patterns of relationship of the germplasm for better exploitation in breeding programs; (ii) assess the usefulness of SNPs for identifying heterotic groups commonly used by CIMMYT breeding programs; and (iii) identify a subset of highly informative SNP markers for routine and low cost genotyping of CIMMYT germplasm in the region using uniplex assays. Results. Genetic distance for about 94% of the pairs of lines fell between 0.300 and 0.400. Eighty four percent of the pairs of lines also showed relative kinship values ≤ 0.500. Model-based population structure analysis, principal component analysis, neighbor-joining cluster analysis and discriminant analysis revealed the presence of 3 major groups and generally agree with pedigree information. The SNP markers did not show clear separation of heterotic groups A and B that were established based on combining ability tests through diallel and line x tester analyses. Our results demonstrated large differences among the SNP markers in terms of reproducibility, ease of scoring, polymorphism, minor allele frequency and polymorphic information content. About 40% of the SNPs in the multiplexed chip-based GoldenGate assays were found to be uninformative in this study and we recommend 644 of the 1065 for low to medium density genotyping in tropical maize germplasm using uniplex assays. Conclusions. There were high genetic distance and low kinship coefficients among most pairs of lines, clearly indicating the uniqueness of the majority of the inbred lines in these maize breeding programs. The results from this study will be useful to breeders in selecting best parental combinations for new breeding crosses, mapping population development and marker assisted breeding.
    Publication