ASHS 2024 Conference

Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb., poses a significant threat to spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) production, necessitating genetic resistance as the primary defense against this disease. This study conducted a comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers linked to Verticillium wilt resistance in spinach and to evaluate genomic prediction for disease resistance. GWAS utilized a panel of 98 spinach germplasm accessions and 20,742 SNPs obtained from whole-genome resequencing. Various statistical models, including GLM, MLM, FarmCPU, and BLINK, were employed using the GAPIT 3 tool for analysis. Two quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions on chromosome 6 were found to be significantly associated with Verticillium wilt resistance. Specifically, SNP SOVchr6_29382746 at 29,382,746 bp and three SNPs (SOVchr6_86904401, SOVchr6_86906249, and SOVchr6_86906255) at 86,904,401 bp and 86,906,249 bp, respectively, demonstrated notable associations with disease resistance. Genomic prediction exhibited high accuracy, with a prediction ability (GA) represented by an r value of 0.95 for the panel. The identified SNP markers, along with the high prediction ability, offer valuable tools for breeders to select Verticillium wilt-resistant spinach plants and lines through molecular breeding, incorporating marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) strategies.