eRD GWAS: Unlocking Gene Expression as a Tool for Trait Mapping in Crops

This webinar will discuss eRD-GWAS, or "expression read depth genome-wide association study," a genome-wide approach for identifying genes whose expression patterns affect phenotypic traits.

To better understand the effect of gene expression on phenotypes, researchers at Iowa State University developed eRD-GWAS, a statistical method that identifies associations between variation in gene expression and variation in traits.

In this webinar, Iowa State's Patrick Schnable will share details of eRD-GWAS and discuss a study that used the approach in maize. 

After using RNA sequencing to assess transcription factor expression in five tissue types from 27 genetically distinct, inbred maize lines, Dr. Schnable and colleagues established an eRD-GWAS framework for assessing expression variation ties to phenotypic traits in a larger set of 369 inbred maize lines.

Dr. Schnable will share details of the study, which identified genes associated with 13 maize traits. He will also present a hypothesis that explains the high rates of true positive associations detected via eRD-GWAS.

Dr. Patrick S. Schnable
Director, Plant Sciences Institute,
Professor, Department of Agronomy,
Iowa State University