Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) on Disease Resistance in Maize

With the reduction in the genotyping cost of the sequencing technique, improved statistical methods, and increased computational efficiency, association mapping, especially genome wide association study (GWAS), is widely used to dissect the architecture of the several complex traits. Several review papers and chapters on QTL mapping of disease resistance in maize have been published so far. However, a general review and compilation of the recent GWAS studies in the disease resistance of maize is limited. This chapter compiles and integrates recent studies of the five major diseases of maize using GWAS. The economically important diseases in maize, along with the novel SNPs and QTLs’ hotspots, are highlighted in the chapter. The advantages of association mapping over QTL mapping, along with working model of GWAS, are briefly discussed. At the end, we discuss on the limitation of the GWAS and future perspectives on the identification of novel disease resistance genes.