Inheritance of seed, flower, and anther colors and their linkage in diverse flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) genotypes

Abstract

Breeders need to mine the underlying genes of target traits for their improvement before the inception of the breeding program. We conducted this research to decipher the number of genes along with their interactions and linkage for seed color, flower color, and anther color, and to show the reflection of genetic divergence on phenotypic variations in segregating populations by crossing diverse flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) genotypes. Seed color showed maternal effect and appeared to be controlled by two and three independent genes having dominant, duplicate, and dominant epistatic interactions varying according to cross combinations. The flower and anther color were controlled by one and two independent genes showing dominant and duplicate interactions. We observed a strong genetic linkage among seed, flower, and anther color genes. We also found that the incorporation of diverse parents in crossing resulted in more phenotypic variation, which included new phenotypic classes other than parents in the segregating population for seed color. This research will facilitate indirect selection and help in developing markers for marker‐assisted selection in flax breeding program.