Genetic Analysis of Fruit Traits in Wolfberry (Lycium L.) by the Major Gene Plus Polygene Model

Abstract

The fruit diameter (FD), fruit length (FL), fruit peduncle length (FPL), fruit weight (FW) and fruit index (FI, FL/FD) are important quantitative traits in wolfberry fruit, and also one of the most important goals of variety breeding; however, the inheritance of these traits has not been studied to date. In this study, the genetic analysis of these five fruit traits was undertaken for four pairs of F1 hybrid populations (CI, CII, CIII and CIV) using the major gene and polygene mixed inheritance model. The results showed that the five fruit traits exhibited super-parent segregation in four hybrid combinations, and five traits of progeny with abundant genetic diversity. In CII, CIII and CIV, the mid-parental heterosis ratio (RHm%) of FD, FL, FPL and FI was greater than 0 with positive heterosis. FD, FL and FI in CI, CII and CIII were controlled by one pair of additive-dominant major genes (A-1). However, in CIV, FD was controlled by two pairs of additive-dominant alleles (B-6) and FL was best fitted to polygenic control (A-0). In addition, it was found that FPL in CI, CIII and CIV was controlled by one or two pairs of additive-dominant major genes (A-1, B-6, B-1), and FW in CIII and CIV was also controlled by one or two pairs of additive-dominant major gene controls (A-1, B-1). For FD, FPL, FW and FI in CIII and FPL and FW in CII, the major genes heritability was over 50%, indicating that these traits are affected by both genes and the environment, and that the selection of these traits should be considered in later generations due to the large effect of environmental factors. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical basis for QTL mapping and early selection of hybrid breeding of Lycium fruits.

Localization of S-Locus-Related Self-Incompatibility in Lycium barbarum Based on BSA Analysis

“…Rehman et al ( 2020) developed a high-resolution map of goji berries using SLAF seq, detecting a total of 117 QTL loci corresponding to multiple fruit-related traits [21]. Ren et al (2022) also established interspecific hybrid populations for QTL mapping of leaf traits and sugar content in goji berries [39]. Yin et al (2022) constructed a genetic map comprising 165 markers (74 AFLPs and 91 SSRs) [40].…”

“…Ren et al (2022) also established interspecific hybrid populations for QTL mapping of leaf traits and sugar content in goji berries [39]. Yin et al (2022) constructed a genetic map comprising 165 markers (74 AFLPs and 91 SSRs) [40]. To date, there has been no utilization of bulked segregant analysis (BSA) to locate key traits in goji berries, nor has there been any research on the localization of the S locus in goji berries.…”

Genetic mapping reveals a candidate gene CmoFL1 controlling fruit length in pumpkin

“…Previous studies have showed that the fruit length and fruit shape were controlled by a single gene in some populations ( Dou et al., 2018 ; Cheng et al., 2021 ; Ma et al., 2022 ), while extensive studies have confirmed that the fruit length and shape were commonly modulated by both quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and some environmental factors ( Wang et al., 2020b , c ). The genetic analysis of quantitative traits using mixed inheritance model with a major gene plus a polygene have elucidated the genetic rules regulating fruit length and fruit size in some crops ( Ren et al., 2022 ; Yan et al., 2023 ). The genetic models that control fruit length were different in different crops.…”