{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:25:45Z","timestamp":1786116345612,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":86,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010256","name":"Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024B03J1303"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024B03J1303"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010256","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010256","name":"Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025D04J0055"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025D04J0055"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010256","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Taiyuan City \u201cSpecial\u201d and \u201cExcellent\u201d Crop Variety Breeding Project","award":["2024QT148"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024QT148"]}]},{"name":"earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System of Shanxi Province","award":["2026CYJSTX01-03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026CYJSTX01-03"]}]},{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement in Staple Crop"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sweet corn is a globally important dual-purpose crop for both food and fresh vegetables. The plant architecture and ear-related traits directly determine its yield potential and field ecological adaptability. To elucidate the genetic architecture of these traits and identify superior alleles for breeding, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 11 agronomic traits using 30,597 high-quality SNP markers in a panel of 101 elite sweet corn inbred lines. Population genetic structure was analyzed using sparse non-negative matrix factorization (sNMF) and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) algorithms, revealing three main clusters and six subpopulations. The clustering pattern was highly consistent with germplasm origin. Association mapping with the fixed and random Circulating Probability Unification (FarmCPU) model identified 16 significant marker\u2013trait associations (MTAs), distributed across seven target agronomic traits. The phenotypic variance explained (PVE) by individual loci ranged from 8.0% to 16.0%. Among these, five stable MTAs across environments, a novel ERN locus (SNP25518) specific to sweet corn, and most association intervals overlapped with previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Within the \u00b10.15 Mb (defined by LD decay) flanking windows around the significant SNP loci, a total of 236 candidate genes were annotated, which are primarily involved in hormone signaling, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, cell division, and plant growth and development. In summary, this study dissected the genetic basis of key agronomic traits in sweet corn and provides a foundation for marker-assisted selection and functional validation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15152406","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T08:08:02Z","timestamp":1786003682000},"page":"2406","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Genome-Wide Association Studies of Agronomic and Yield Traits in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharata)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Yanchao","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement in Staple Crop, Sorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8266-8595","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jingwen","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huiming","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement in Staple Crop, Sorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mingxing","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xu","family":"Pang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement in Staple Crop, Sorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianbing","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement in Staple Crop, Sorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ye","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Province Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, Taiyuan 030106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guowu","family":"Lian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Province Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, Taiyuan 030106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3910-1514","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Faqiang","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2842","DOI":"10.1038\/s41588-025-02401-0","article-title":"Genetic Basis of Flavor Complexity in Sweet Corn","volume":"57","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat. 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