Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Root Traits in the Context of Plant Hormone Research.

Genome-wide association (GWA) mapping is a powerful method for the identification of alleles that underlie quantitative traits. It enables one to understand how genetic variation translates into phenotypic variation. In particular, plant hormone signaling pathways play a key role in shaping phenotypes. This chapter presents a protocol for genome-wide association mapping of root traits of Arabidopsis thaliana in the context of hormone research. We describe a specific protocol for acquiring primary and lateral root trait data that is appropriate for GWA studies using FIJI (ImageJ), and subsequent GWA mapping using a user-friendly Internet application.