Regional Heritability Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Controlling Traits Related to Growth and Productivity in Popcorn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.)
Gabrielle Sousa Mafra,
Janeo Eustáquio de Almeida Filho,
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior,
Carlos Maldonado,
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst,
Valter Jário de Lima,
Divino Rosa dos Santos Junior,
Jhean Torres Leite,
Pedro Henrique Araujo Diniz Santos,
Talles de Oliveira Santos,
Rosimeire Barboza Bispo,
Uéliton Alves de Oliveira,
Vitor Batista Pinto,
Alexandre Pio Viana,
Caio Cezar Guedes Correa,
Sunny Ahmar,
Freddy Mora-Poblete
Affiliations
Gabrielle Sousa Mafra
Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Estadual da Região Tocantina do Maranhão, R. Godofredo Viana, 1300, Imperatriz 65900-000, Brazil
Janeo Eustáquio de Almeida Filho
Bayer, Estrada da Invernadinha, 2000, Coxilha 99145-000, Brazil
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Carlos Maldonado
Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales, Universidad de O’Higgins, San Fernando 3070000, Chile
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Valter Jário de Lima
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Divino Rosa dos Santos Junior
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Jhean Torres Leite
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Pedro Henrique Araujo Diniz Santos
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Talles de Oliveira Santos
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Rosimeire Barboza Bispo
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Uéliton Alves de Oliveira
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Vitor Batista Pinto
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Alexandre Pio Viana
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Caio Cezar Guedes Correa
Laboratory of Plant Breeding, Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Darcy Ribeiro State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, Brazil
Sunny Ahmar
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Talca, 1 Poniente 1141, Talca 3460000, Chile
Freddy Mora-Poblete
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Talca, 1 Poniente 1141, Talca 3460000, Chile
The method of regional heritability mapping (RHM) has become an important tool in the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling traits of interest in plants. Here, RHM was first applied in a breeding population of popcorn, to identify the QTLs and candidate genes involved in grain yield, plant height, kernel popping expansion, and first ear height, as well as determining the heritability of each significant genomic region. The study population consisted of 98 S1 families derived from the 9th recurrent selection cycle (C-9) of the open-pollinated variety UENF-14, which were genetically evaluated in two environments (ENV1 and ENV2). Seventeen and five genomic regions were mapped by the RHM method in ENV1 and ENV2, respectively. Subsequent genome-wide analysis based on the reference genome B73 revealed associations with forty-six candidate genes within these genomic regions, some of them are considered to be biologically important due to the proteins that they encode. The results obtained by the RHM method have the potential to contribute to knowledge on the genetic architecture of the growth and yield traits of popcorn, which might be used for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs.
