A rare natural variation in TaFT-D2 underlies QTss.cas-3D associated with increased total spikelet number per spike in wheat
Hong Liu,
Zhipeng Shi,
Guohao Han,
Jinpeng Zhang,
Tiantian Gu,
Jing Wang,
Hanwen Yan,
Lixian Xing,
Lihui Li,
Diaoguo An
Affiliations
Hong Liu
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Zhipeng Shi
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Guohao Han
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Jinpeng Zhang
Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Tiantian Gu
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Jing Wang
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Hanwen Yan
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Lixian Xing
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China
Lihui Li
Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572024, Hainan, China; Corresponding authors.
Diaoguo An
Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, Hebei, China; Corresponding authors.
Total spikelet number per spike (TSS) is a crucial yield component in wheat. Dissecting and characterizing major stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with TSS can significantly enhance the genetic improvement of yield potential. In a previous study, we identified a stable major QTL for TSS, named QTss.cas-3D. In the present study, we conducted fine mapping of QTss.cas-3D, interval to approximately 6.35 Mb, ranging from 105.03 to 111.38 Mb, based on the IWGSC RefSeq v2.1. Through genome re-sequencing and gene function annotation, we identified TraesCS3D03G0308000 (TaFT-D2) as the candidate gene. Phenotypic evaluation with paired near-isogenic lines revealed that this locus predominantly increases kernel number per spike by enhancing TSS and fertile spikelet number per spike, without significantly affecting thousand-kernel weight or tiller number. The presence of the TaFT-D2 allele in the parent P3228, which is rare in nature populations, highlights its potential value. This study provides a valuable gene resource and functional marker for wheat molecular breeding aimed at improving TSS and establishes a foundation for gene functional analysis of TaFT-D2.
