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Leveraging phenotypic plasticity in seed oil content for climate-adapted breeding and production
  • +9
  • Tingting Guo,
  • Lingju Zeng,
  • Xu Han,
  • Xiangjian Gou,
  • He Pei,
  • Yang Shao,
  • Yilan Cao,
  • Zhenwei Zhang,
  • Xianran Li,
  • Jianming Yu,
  • Jianbing Yan,
  • Liang Guo
Tingting Guo
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lingju Zeng
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Xu Han
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Xiangjian Gou
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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He Pei
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Yang Shao
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Yilan Cao
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Zhenwei Zhang
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Xianran Li
USDA Agricultural Research Service Wheat Health Genetics and Quality Research Unit
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Jianming Yu
Iowa State University of Science and Technology Department of Agronomy
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Jianbing Yan
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Liang Guo
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
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Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of organisms to respond to environmental changes. Understanding and leveraging crop phenotypic plasticity is crucial for mitigating the threats caused by climate change. Here, we assessed phenotypic plasticity in multi-environment trials over 4 years, covering a wide geographical area, using 505 inbred lines from a Brassica napus genetic diversity panel. The observed phenotypic variation for seed oil content (SOC) was influenced by three environmental indices (precipitation, diurnal temperature range, and ultraviolet B) during the flowering or pod-filling stage alongside five plasticity genes. Leveraging this information with climate records, we developed a predictive model to estimate SOC for various planting dates in seven major production regions, and validated the accuracy of our predictions in new environments. With the quantified plasticity conferred by genetic variation in the five plasticity genes, we identified an optimal haplotype for each production region for adaptability to future climate projections. This study offers valuable insights and selection of materials to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture.