Durum wheat is an economically and nutritionally important cereal. The increase in durum wheat yield is mostly associated with improving grain traits, and the grain size- and shape-related traits are directly related to wheat yield. In addition, grain size influences the seed germination rate and seedling vigor, which play key roles in stand establishment and yield. Thus, it is important to investigate grain traits both agro-morphologically and genetically. In this study, a panel of durum wheat, consisting of 146 genotypes, was evaluated for grain traits agro-morphologically and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to dissect the genomic regions associated with these traits. As a result of the GWAS, a total of 41 marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified on different chromosomes of durum wheat. Of these MTAs, only 11 were stable across environments. A BLAST search for the flanking sequences of every stable MTA in the Svevo genome identified 18 putative candidate genes directly associated with the seed traits of different plants, particularly wheat seeds. In conclusion, the annotation results and literature information provide strong evidence that the identified stable MTAs and their candidate genes may have important functions in the formation of wheat grain traits. After the validation of these MTAs with different fine-mapping and functional characterization studies, these loci may provide valuable information for geneticists and breeders to improve wheat yield.

Biofortification has emerged as an important approach for improving minerals and vitamin deficiencies through the application of agronomic and biotechnological methodologies. Vitamin A, one of the most deficient vitamins, disproportionately affects children in developing countries, highlighting the urgent need for vitamin A-enriched cultivars. The present study aimed to characterize common bean germplasm for vitamin A contents and to identify the genomic regions associated with this trait. A total of 177 common bean landraces and 6 commercial cultivars were evaluated under five environments and two locations. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant environmental effects and genotype × environment interactions. Across all years and all locations, Bilecik-6 exhibited the lowest vitamin A contents (1.67 µg/100 g dry seed), while Civril-Bolu had the highest (3.23 µg/100 g dry seed). Landraces from Balıkesir province were found to be rich in vitamin A content and should be considered as potential genetic resources for common bean biofortification. Additionally, a genomic region located on Pv06 was identified as being linked to vitamin A content. The genomic and genetic resources identified in this study will be valuable for the breeding community aiming to develop vitamin A-enriched common bean cultivars.

Durum wheat is an economically and nutritionally important cereal. The increase in durum wheat yield is mostly associated with improving grain traits. The grain size and shape-related traits are directly related to wheat yield. In addition, grain size influences the seed germination rate and seedling vigour, which play key roles in stand establishment and yield. Thus, it is important to investigate grain traits both agro-morphologically and genetically. In this study, a panel of durum wheat, consisted of 146 genotypes, was evaluated for grain traits agro-morphologically, and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to dissect the genomic regions associated with these traits. As a result of GWAS, a total of 41 marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified on different chromosomes of durum wheat. Of these MTAs, only 11 were stable across environments. A BLAST search for flanking sequences of every stable MTAs in the Svevo genome identified 18 putative candidate genes directly associated with seed traits of different plants, particularly wheat seeds. In conclusion, the annotation results and literature information provide strong evidence that identified stable MTAs and their candidate genes may have important functions in the formation of wheat grain traits. After the validation of these MTAs with different fine-mapping and functional characterization studies, these loci may provide valuable information for geneticists and breeders to improve wheat yield.