Starch (淀粉) is the most abundant storage carbohydrate (储存的碳水化合物) in maize kernel (玉米籽粒). The content of amylose (直链淀粉) and amylopectin (支链淀粉) confers unique properties in food processing (食品加工) and industrial application. Thus, the resurgent interest has been switched to the study of individual amylose or amylopectin rather than total starch, whereas the enzymatic machinery for amylose synthesis remains elusive. We took advantage of the phenotype of amylose content and the genotype of 9,007,194 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 464 inbred maize lines. The genome-wide association study identified 27 associated loci involving 39 candidate genes that were linked to amylose content including transcription factors, glycosyltransferases (糖基转移酶), glycosidases (糖苷酶), as well as hydrolases (水解酶). Except the waxy gene that encodes the granule-bound starch synthase (颗粒结合淀粉合成酶), the remaining candidate genes were located in the upstream pathway of amylose synthesis, while the downstream members were already known from prior studies. The linked candidate genes could be transferred to manipulate amylose content and thus add value to maize kernel in the breeding programme.

研究方向：植物基因组学与生物能源应用；植物基因组学与作物品质；生物信息学

Published online: September 15, 2017.