Genetic dissection of seedling traits in a BC 4 F 3 population under the stress of cadmium in sweet corn

Genetic dissection of seedling traits in a BC 4 F 3 population under the stress of cadmium in sweet corn | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Genetic dissection of seedling traits in a BC 4 F 3 population under the stress of cadmium in sweet corn Haoxuan Jiang, Yanchao Du, Jianting Lin, Huating Zhao, Xiaoming Wu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7748577/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Euphytica → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cadmium pollution has become a serious global threat to agricultural sustainability. Uncovering genetic loci and candidate genes associated with cadmium tolerance is of great importance. In this study, a BC₄F₃ population was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling cadmium tolerance in sweet corn seedlings by applying composite interval mapping. The results revealed significant transgressive segregation in the population phenotypes, with broad-sense heritability values of 0.60, 0.63, and 0.66 for seedling height (SH), root length (RL), and seeding fresh weight (SFW), respectively. A total of eight QTLs were detected over two years, distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, with phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 6.2% to 8.0%. Among these, five QTLs were associated with SH, with qSH2.1 showing the highest PVE. Gene annotation and GO enrichment analysis of the genes within the eight QTL intervals revealed significant enrichment in three pathways: GO:0016667 (oxidoreductase activity, acting on a sulfur group of donors), GO:0030983 (mismatched DNA binding), and GO:0030151 (molybdenum ion binding). Within these significantly enriched pathways, 15 candidate genes related to cadmium stress response were identified. These findings will facilitate the identification of functional genes and molecular marker-assisted breeding, thereby improving heavy metal tolerance in sweet corn. Candidate gene Cadmium stress Sweet corn QTL Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Euphytica → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 10 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 02 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 30 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7748577","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":538890354,"identity":"8ec16614-f998-43f0-9bf8-8de02ab47dbe","order_by":0,"name":"Haoxuan Jiang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haoxuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""},{"id":538890355,"identity":"5227920d-7db4-484b-b366-85a270bd7aa8","order_by":1,"name":"Yanchao Du","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi Agricultural 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corn","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"euphytica","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"euph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Euphytica](https://www.springer.com/journal/10681)","snPcode":"10681","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/10681/3","title":"Euphytica","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer 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Uncovering genetic loci and candidate genes associated with cadmium tolerance is of great importance. In this study, a BC₄F₃ population was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling cadmium tolerance in sweet corn seedlings by applying composite interval mapping. The results revealed significant transgressive segregation in the population phenotypes, with broad-sense heritability values of 0.60, 0.63, and 0.66 for seedling height (SH), root length (RL), and seeding fresh weight (SFW), respectively. A total of eight QTLs were detected over two years, distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, with phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 6.2% to 8.0%. Among these, five QTLs were associated with SH, with qSH2.1 showing the highest PVE. Gene annotation and GO enrichment analysis of the genes within the eight QTL intervals revealed significant enrichment in three pathways: GO:0016667 (oxidoreductase activity, acting on a sulfur group of donors), GO:0030983 (mismatched DNA binding), and GO:0030151 (molybdenum ion binding). Within these significantly enriched pathways, 15 candidate genes related to cadmium stress response were identified. These findings will facilitate the identification of functional genes and molecular marker-assisted breeding, thereby improving heavy metal tolerance in sweet corn.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Genetic dissection of seedling traits in a BC 4 F 3 population under the stress of cadmium in sweet corn","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-07 08:28:34","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7748577/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-11-10T07:49:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-07T12:06:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-03T03:58:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"334500488788802619027187597722917186336","date":"2025-10-28T05:27:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"284791169505221395807516311191549971186","date":"2025-10-28T02:16:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-28T00:00:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-04T11:43:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-10-04T11:41:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Euphytica","date":"2025-09-30T07:26:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"euphytica","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"euph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Euphytica](https://www.springer.com/journal/10681)","snPcode":"10681","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/10681/3","title":"Euphytica","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f520b2aa-4389-4c3e-a668-706c63a4aefe","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 7th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-09T16:05:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7748577","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-026-03674-0","journal":{"identity":"euphytica","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Euphytica"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-02 15:59:44","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 2nd, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-07 08:28:34","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10681-026-03674-0","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-026-03674-0","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7748577","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7748577","identity":"rs-7748577","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}