Journal of Integrative Agriculture (Jun 2022)

A major and stable QTL for wheat spikelet number per spike validated in different genetic backgrounds

  • Pu-yang DING,
  • Zi-qiang MO,
  • Hua-ping TANG,
  • Yang MU,
  • Mei DENG,
  • Qian-tao JIANG,
  • Ya-xi LIU,
  • Guang-deng CHEN,
  • Guo-yue CHEN,
  • Ji-rui WANG,
  • Wei LI,
  • Peng-fei QI,
  • Yun-feng JIANG,
  • Hou-yang KANG,
  • Gui-jun YAN,
  • Yu-ming WEI,
  • You-liang ZHENG,
  • Xiu-jin LAN,
  • Jian MA

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 6
pp. 1551 – 1562

Abstract

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The spikelet number per spike (SNS) contributes greatly to grain yield in wheat. Identifying various genes that control wheat SNS is vital for yield improvement. This study used a recombinant inbred line population genotyped by the Wheat55K single-nucleotide polymorphism array to identify two major and stably expressed quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SNS. One of them (QSns.sau-2SY-2D.1) was reported previously, while the other (QSns.sau-2SY-7A) was newly detected and further analyzed in this study. QSns.sau-2SY-7A had a high LOD value ranging from 4.46 to 16.00 and explained 10.21–40.78% of the phenotypic variances. QSns.sau-2SY-7A was flanked by the markers AX-110518554 and AX-110094527 in a 4.75-cM interval on chromosome arm 7AL. The contributions and interactions of both major QTLs were further analyzed and discussed. The effect of QSns.sau-2SY-7A was successfully validated by developing a tightly linked kompetitive allele specific PCR marker in an F2:3 population and a panel of 101 high-generation breeding wheat lines. Furthermore, several genes including the previously reported WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO1), an ortholog of the rice gene ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1 (APO1) related to SNS, were predicted in the interval of QSns.sau-2SY-7A. In summary, these results revealed the genetic basis of the multi-spikelet genotype of wheat line 20828 and will facilitate subsequent fine mapping and breeding utilization of the major QTLs.

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