Discovery of Consistent QTLs of Wheat Spike-Related Traits under Nitrogen Treatment at Different Development Stages

Abstract

Spike-related traits such as spike length (Sl), fertile spikelet number (Fsn), sterile spikelet number (Ssn), grain number per spike (Gns), and thousand-kernel weight (Tkw) are important factors influencing wheat yield. However, reliably stable markers that can be used for molecular breeding in different environments have not yet been identified. In this study, a double haploid (DH) population was used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of five spike-related traits under four different nitrogen (N) supply dates in two locations and years. Seventy additive QTLs with phenotypic variation ranging from 4.12 to 34.74% and 10 major epistatic QTLs were identified. Eight important chromosomal regions on five chromosomes (1B, 2B, 2D, 5D, and 6A) were found. Sixteen stable QTLs were detected for which N application had little effect. Among those stable QTLs, QSl.sdau-2D-1, and QSl.sdau-2D-2, with phenotypic variation explained (PVE) of 10.4 and 24.2%, respectively, were flanked by markers Xwmc112 and Xcfd53 in the same order. The QTLs QSsn.sdau-2B-1, QFsn.sdau-2B-1, and QGns.sdau-2B, with PVE ranging from 4.37 to 28.43%, collocated in the Xwmc179-Xbarc373 marker interval. The consistent kernel wheat QTL (QTkw.sdau-6A) on the long arm of chromosome 6A, flanked by SSR markers Xbarc1055 and Xwmc553, showed PVE of 5.87–15.18%. Among these stable QTLs, the two flanking markers Xwmc112 and Xcfd53 have been validated using different varieties and populations for selecting Sl. Therefore, these results will be of great value for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in breeding programs and will accelerate the understanding of the genetic relationships among spike-related traits at the molecular level.

Uncovering the Genetic Architecture of Fruiting Efficiency in Bread Wheat: A Viable Alternative to Increase Yield Potential

“…Based on the consensus map, the marker Excalibur_c5278_1075 (0.0 Mb) on 2D linked to the three spikelet numerical components was located at 2 cM from gpw4473, which was also reported to be associated with FSS (Yu et al, 2018). In addition, the marker CAP12_c1503_76 (35.6 Mb) also linked to TSS, FSS, and ESS in our study was very close to two regions reported to be associated with FSS and TSS by Deng et al (2017) and Yu et al (2018), respectively. In this region, Ellis et al (2005) also reported the marker GWM261 to be linked to Rht8 .…”

“…In previous studies, stable genomic regions associated with TSS, FSS, and ESS were mainly detected on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5D, 6A, 6B,7A, 7B, and 7D (Cui et al, 2012; Deng et al, 2017; Guo et al, 2017; Sun et al, 2017; Zhou et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2018; Yu et al, 2018). Here, we found MTAs linked to these traits on chromosomes 2A, 2D, and 7A.…”

“…Related genomic regions associated with grain yield, GNS, and TKW have been previously reported in almost the entire wheat genome (Deng et al, 2011; Cui et al, 2012; Deng et al, 2017; Guo et al, 2017; Sun et al, 2017; Zou et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2018; Su et al, 2018; Yu et al, 2018; Zhai et al, 2018). In this study, we found significant SNPs markers on 2A, 2B, and 7A for GWS; on 1B, 2A, 2B, and 7A for TKW; and on 1A, 2B, and 2D for GNS.…”

TaAPO-A1, an ortholog of riceABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1, is associated with total spikelet number per spike in elite hexaploid winter wheat varieties (Triticum aestivumL.)

“…In the recent past, several genes controlling spike morphology have been investigated and described in temperate cereals (Gauley and Boden 2019; Koppolu and Schnurbusch 2019). From a plant breeder’s viewpoint, most spike morphological traits in wheat such as spike length and spikelet number behave as quantitative traits, and various QTL and association studies have recently been published (Deng et al 2017; Guo et al 2017; Liu et al 2018; Sakuma et al 2019; Würschum et al 2018; Zhai et al 2016). High associations and prediction abilities for total and fertile spikelet number as well as spike length and grain yield were also reported (Guo et al 2018).…”

Genome-wide association study reveals new loci for yield-related traits in Sichuan wheat germplasm under stripe rust stress

“…QSL.sicau-2AL was located around the position of 432.58 Mb at 2A, which was the same as QSl.sdau-2A[57]. QSL.sicau-2DS overlapped with QPht/SL.cau-2D.2[58], and the QSL.sicau-4AS was covered by QSl.sau-4A[59].…”