Genome-wide association studies dissect the genetic architecture of seed and yield component traits in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

The identification of loci related to seed and yield component traits in cowpea constitutes a key step for improvement through marker-assisted selection (MAS). Furthermore, seed morphology has an impact on industrial processing and influences consumer and farmer preferences. In this study, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on a mini-core collection of cowpea to dissect the genetic architecture and detect genomic regions associated with seed morphological traits and yield components. Phenotypic data were measured both manually and by high-throughput image-based approaches to test associations with 41,533 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers using the FarmCPU model. From genome-associated regions, we also investigated putative candidate genes involved in the variation of the phenotypic traits. We detected 42 marker-trait associations for pod length and hundred seed weight, length, width, perimeter, and area of the seed. Candidate genes encoding leucine-rich repeat-cont..., , , # Data from: Genome-wide association studies dissect the genetic architecture of seed and yield component traits in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Data for the study, which evaluated eight seed and yield component traits in 375 accessions of the UCR Minicore collection, along with 10 checks. The experiment was conducted in 2021 at the Plant Science Research and Experimental Unit (PSREU), Citra, FL. A row-column field design was used, with two replicates, and plants were manually seeded. To ensure accurate phenotypic evaluation, three plants were harvested from the center of each plot.

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Habib Akinmade, Rebecca Caroline Ulbricht Ferreira, Mario Henrique Murad Leite Andrade, Claudio Fernandes, Pablo Sipowicz, María Muñoz-Amatriaín, Esteban Rios, Genome-wide association studies dissect the genetic architecture of seed and yield component t...