Genome-wide association study of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in the maize nested association mapping population
Nengyi Zhang, Yves Gibon, Nicholas Lepak, Pinghua Li, Lauren Dedow, Charles Chen, Yoon-Sup So, Jason Wallace, Karl Kremling, Peter Bradbury, Thomas Brutnell, Mark Stitt, Edward Buckler
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/010785

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism are critical to plant growth and development and at the basis of yield and adaptation. We have applied high throughput metabolite analyses to over 12,000 diverse field grown samples from the maize nested association mapping population. This allowed us to identify natural variation controlling the levels of twelve key C and N metabolites, often with single gene resolution. In addition to expected genes like invertases, critical natural variation was identified in key C4 metabolism genes like carbonic anhydrases and a malate transporter. Unlike prior maize studies, extensive pleiotropy was found for C and N metabolites. This integration of field-derived metabolite data with powerful mapping and genomics resources allows dissection of key metabolic pathways, providing avenues for future genetic improvement.