Identification of candidate genes regulating maize leaf angle based on GWAS

Leaf angle (LA) is a key determinant of maize plant architecture, affecting light capture, canopy efficiency, and yield in dense cropping systems. We assessed LA in 368 maize ( Zea mays L.) hybrids across six environments and performed genome‐wide association studies using 359,809 high‐quality single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This revealed 94 significant LA‐associated loci, including two co‐localized SNPs (rs_2_201960860 and rs_2_201960877) consistently identified across environments. Eight candidate genes were linked to this region, among which Zm00001d006212 displayed high leaf tissue expression. Haplotype analysis revealed that the LA values associated with Hap1, Hap2, and Hap3 of Zm00001d006212 were significantly lower than those associated with Hap4, further supporting its contribution to LA variation. A molecular marker was designed based on Zm00001d006212 sequence variants. This marker demonstrated that plants with the target band had significantly larger LA than those without. These findings offer new insights into the genetic regulation of LA and present molecular tools for optimizing maize plant architecture via marker‐assisted breeding.