Identification of QTLs influencing combustion quality in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Miscanthus sinensis</Emphasis> Anderss. II. Chlorine and potassium content

Chlorine and potassium content are important traits related to combustion quality of Miscanthus species. These traits were analysed in a cross between F(1.1) and F(1.7) entries of Miscanthus sinensis Anderss, both lines offspring of the cross between MS-90-2 and MS-88-110. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses were performed on a previous linkage map constructed with the offspring cross mapping strategy. The mapqtl 4.0 package was used to perform QTL analyses. Six potential QTLs were detected with data collected over a 2-year period. Of these, four were associated with chlorine and two with potassium. These results could be used as an initial step to develop a marker-aided selection programme for biomass with low mineral content.