Association analysis of molecular markers with essential agronomic traits under normal and salt stress in wide germplasm of foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.)

Food security and nutrition concerns are putting an ancient, climate-smart grain back on our plates: farm to fork. There has been a revival of interest in millet. Foxtail millet, as a multi-purpose product, has nutritious and medicinal potential. This research is aimed at identifying combined markers as well as stable associations between such markers and the investigated agronomic traits in a wide range of foxtail millet germplasms under normal and salinity-stress conditions. In this context, association analysis has been conducted among 14 agronomic traits and 331 polymorphic AFLP markers generated by 12 primer combinations in 134 foxtail millet genotypes. Based on the analysis of population structure, the foxtail millet genotypes were divided into six subpopulations. The results showed that a number of markers had stable and significant associations under both normal and salinity-stress conditions with agronomic traits. The primer combinations had high polymorphic percentage; diversity indices were highly reliable and revealed significant genetic variability among the genotypes. Their PIC, MI and Shannon's indices were also highly reliable and revealed significant genetic variability among the genotypes. Since the markers introduced in this research have stable and strong associations with the investigated traits under normal and salinity-stress conditions, they can be suitable candidates' in future marker-assisted breeding to improve salinity-resistance genotypes of foxtail millet in arid and semiarid areas.