Dissecting SDG lignan biosynthetic pathways in EMS mutagenized flax using Ampliseq gene panels

Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis is now a common practice in plant breeding. Whereas forward genetic helps identifying the desired phenotypic traits, genotyping the allelic variants responsible for the phenotypic variation is always challenging due to the random nature of the induced mutations along the pathways. In the absence of full genome sequence, Ampliseq gene panel has been a good option for dissecting biosynthetic pathways. Here, an Ampliseq gene panel consisting of 11 genes was used to dissect and ascertain EMS mutations in the SDG lignan biosynthetic pathway from 84 M4 flax plants. The data not only confirmed previous amplicon sequencing and KASP genotyping results in UGT74S1 gene, but also contributed to identifying additional mutations, albeit sense or of minor effects, in other genes of the pathway. The usefulness of Ampliseq gene panel in pathways analysis will be discussed.