Mapping quantitative trait loci associated with chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Abstract

Chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters can provide qualitative and quantitative information about photosynthetic processes in chloroplasts. JIP-test and modulated fluorescence (MF) parameters are commonly used chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. This study was conducted to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with JIP-test parameters, MF parameters, and photosynthetic rate (P(N)), and to examine the relationships among them in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Pot and field experiments were performed to evaluate 184 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) for five JIP-test parameters (ABS/RC, TR(O)/ABS, ET(O)/TR(O), RE(O)/ET(O), and PI(ABS)), four MF parameters (Fv/Fm, Fv'/Fm', PhiPSII, and qP), and P(N).Significant correlations were commonly observed among JIP-test parameters, MF parameters, and P(N). QTL mapping analysis identified 13, 9, and 4 QTLs for JIP-test parameters, MF parameters, and P(N), respectively, of which 13 were stable. Four major genomic regions were detected: LG A2 (19.81 cM) for JIP-test parameters, LG C1 (94.31 and 97.61 cM) for P(N) and MF parameters, LG M (100.51 cM) for JIP-test and MF parameters, and LG O (30.61-49.91 cM) for P(N), JIP-test, and MF parameters. These results indicate that chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, especially PHIPSII and qP, could play an important role in regulating P(N), and that JIP-test and MF parameters could be controlled by the same or different genes. The QTLs identified in this study will help in the understanding of the genetic basis of photosynthetic processes in plants. They will also contribute to the development of marker-assisted selection breeding programs for photosynthetic capacity in soybean.

Application of photochemical parameters and several indices based on phenotypical traits to assess intraspecific variation of oat (Avena sativa L.) tolerance to drought

“…Chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics (CF) allows determining whether the photosynthetic apparatus was damaged after cessation of watering. Fluorescence methods have been successfully applied in many studies related to plant drought resistance (Lichtenthaler and Babani 2004;Lichtenthaler et al 2005;Hura et al 2007;Rapacz et al 2010);Yin et al 2010). CF-modulated parameters are commonly used in the JIP-test.…”

“…Handy PEA fluorometer allows measurements of chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics using continuous excitation (Strasser and Govindjee 1992;Strasser et al 2004). The procedure applied in the current study is called the JIP-test (a test analyzing fast fluorescence kinetics), which allows to measure several photosynthetic parameters (Strasser et al 1995;Yin et al 2010). These include: F v /F m (the maximum photochemical efficiency), PI (overall performance index of PSII system), ABS/CSm (light energy absorption), TR o /CSm (excitation energy trapped in PSII reaction centers), DI o /CSm [energy dissipated from PSII as heat, equal to (ABS/CSm-TR o /CSm)], ET o /CSm (energy used for electron transport) and RC/CSm (number of active reaction centers).…”

“…They reflect the electron transfer and energy distribution within the photosynthetic apparatus during the primary photochemistry (Strasser et al 2004). The possibility of applying this technique as a reliable method for screening the plants for drought tolerance has been previously reported (Li et al 2006;Yin et al 2010). These observations validate our approach, which should be regarded as an initial screen, which can be subsequently employed to target drought tolerance in the studied DH oat lines.…”

QTL for chlorophyll fluorescence of barley plants grown at low oxygen concentration in hydroponics to simulate waterlogging

“…Chlorophyll fluorescence is widely accepted as an indicator of the activity of PSII, which is involved in electron transport in plant photosynthesis and is particularly sensitive to stresses (Fracheboud et al 2004;Guo et al 2008;Gu et al 2012). Various fluorescence parameters have been found to be closely correlated with carbon assimilation under different stresses in rice (Guo et al 2008), lucerne (Smethurst and Shabala 2003), soybean (Yin et al 2010), wheat ) and maize (Fracheboud et al 2004), as well as grain yield in barley (Bertholdsson 2013) and, under optimal conditions intriticale (Hura et al 2009). Fluorescence parameters has also been used for mapping QTL in relation to drought stress in wheat (Czyczyło-Mysza et al 2011), rice (Gu et al 2012) and barley (Guo et al 2008;Wójcik-Jagla et al 2013), salt tolerance in barley (Aminfar et al 2011) and biomass and yield in wheat (Czyczylo-Mysza et al 2013).…”

GmFtsH9 expression correlates with in vivo photosystem II function: chlorophyll a fluorescence transient analysis and eQTL mapping in soybean

“…For almost any gene analyzed in a segregating population, eQTL analysis can identify the genomic regions influencing its expression level. The genetical genomics approach has been successfully employed for identifying eQTLs regulating gene expression (Potokina et al 2006;Yin et al 2010a).…”