Machine Learning-GWAS reveals the role ofWSD1gene for cuticular wax ester biosynthesis and key genomic regions controlling early maturity in bread wheat

This study employed Machine Learning-Genome-Wide Association Study (ML-GWAS) to identify genomic regions linked to cuticular wax ester biosynthesis (SW) and early maturity (DM) in wheat. Using a dataset with 170 wheat accessions and 74K SNPs, four GWAS tools (MLM, CMLM, FarmCPU, and BLINK) and five machine learning techniques (RF, ANN, SVR, CNN, and SVM) were applied. A highly significant SW association was found on chromosome 1A, with the peak SNP (chr1A:556842331) explaining 50% of the phenotypic variation. A promising candidate gene, TraesCS1A01G385500 , was identified as an ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana’s WSD1 gene, which plays a crucial role in very long-chain (VLC) wax ester biosynthesis. For DM, four QTLs were detected on chromosomes 4B (two QTLs), 2A, and 5A. Haplotype analysis revealed that alleles TT significantly contribute to cuticular wax ester biosynthesis and early maturity in wheat varieties. The study underscores the superior performance of ML models, especially when combined with advanced multi-locus GWAS models like BLINK and FarmCPU, with significantly lower p-values for identifying relevant QTLs compared to traditional methods. ML approaches hold potential for revolutionizing the study of complex genetic traits, offering insights to enhance wheat crops’ resilience and quality. ML-GWAS emerges as a compelling tool for genomic-based breeding, enabling breeders to develop improved wheat varieties with greater precision and efficiency.