Major QTL with pleiotropic effects controlling time of leaf budburst and flowering-related traits in walnut (Juglans regia L.)

Breeding studies in walnut (Juglans regia L.) are usually time consuming due to the long juvenile period and therefore, this study aimed to determine markers associated with time of leaf budburst and flowering-related traits by performing a genome-wide association study (GWAS). We investigated genotypic variation and its association with time of leaf budburst and flowering-related traits in 188 walnut accessions. Phenotypic data was obtained from 13 different traits during 3 consecutive years. We used DArT-seq for genotyping with a total of 33,519 (14,761 SNP and 18,758 DArT) markers for genome-wide associations to identify marker underlying these traits. Significant correlations were determined among the 13 different traits. Linkage disequilibrium decayed very quickly in walnut in comparison with other plants. Sixteen quantitative trait loci (QTL) with major effects (R(2) between 0.08 and 0.23) were found to be associated with a minimum of two phenotypic traits each. Of these QTL, QTL05 had the maximum number of associated traits (seven). Our study is GWAS for time of leaf budburst and flowering-related traits in Juglans regia L. and has a strong potential to efficiently implement the identified QTL in walnut breeding programs.