Variation in the Agronomic and Morphological Traits of Iranian Chickpea Accessions

Landraces of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Iran have not been adequately characterized for their agronomic and morphological traits. Such characterization would be helpful in the development of improved cultivars, so in this study 362 chickpea accessions, collected from the major chickpea growing areas of Iran, were evaluated to determine their phenotypic diversity. High coefficients of variation (CVs)were recorded in pods/branch, seeds/pod, yield/plant, seeds/plant, pods/plant and branches/plant. Using principal component (PC) analysis, the first four PCs with eigenvalues more than 1 contributed 84.10% of the variability among accessions, whereas PC5 to PC10 were less than unity. PC1 was positively related to days to first maturity, days to 50% flowering and days to 50% maturity. The characters with the greatest weight on PC2 were seeds/plant and yield/plant, whereas PC3 was mainly related to pods/plant, seeds/pod and 100-seed weight, and PC4 was positively related to pods/branch and negatively to branches/plant. The germplasm was grouped into four clusters using cluster analysis. Each cluster had some specific characteristics of its own and the cluster I was clearly separated from clusters Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ. These accessions are an important resource for the establishment of a core collection of chickpeas in the world.     

Variation in the Agronomic and Morphological Traits of Iranian Chickpea Accessions

Landraces of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Iran have not been adequately characterized for their agronomic and morphological traits. Such characterization would be helpful in the development of improved cultivars, so in this study 362 chickpea accessions, collected from the major chickpea growing areas of Iran, were evaluated to determine their phenotypic diversity. High coefficients of variation (CVs) were recorded in pods/branch, seeds/pod, yield/plant, seeds/plant, pods/plant and branches/plant. Using principal component (PC) analysis, the first four PCs with eigenvalues more than 1 contributed 84.10% of the variability among accessions, whereas PC5 to PC10 were less than unity. PC1 was positively related to days to first maturity, days to 50% flowering and days to 50% maturity. The characters with the greatest weight on PC2 were seeds/plant and yield/plant, whereas PC3 was mainly related to pods/plant, seeds/pod and 100seed weight, and PC4 was positively related to pods/branch and negatively to branches/plant. The germplasm was grouped into four clusters using cluster analysis. Each cluster had some specific characteristics of its own and the cluster I was clearly separated from clusters II, III and IV. These accessions are an important resource for the establishment of a core collection of chickpeas in the world.     

东北春大豆种质资源表型分析及综合评价

种质资源是大豆遗传育种和解析复杂数量性状的基础,通过对种质资源的评价,可指导育种实践中优异互补亲本的选择,提高优异基因交流累加和新品种培育的效率。本研究选用来自东北三省一区1923-2010年间选育的340份春大豆种质资源,通过在牡丹江地区对12个表型性状的2年综合鉴定,评价品种群体遗传变异特点和筛选优异种质资源,结果表明:(1)春大豆种质资源表型变异丰富。除生育期年份间差异不显著外,其他性状品种间和年份间均呈显著的差异,且2年变化趋势相同。有效分枝数变异幅度最大,其次是主茎荚数、单株粒重和株高,这些性状选择潜力较大,品质性状的变异幅度较小,选择潜力有限;(2)表型性状特征频率分布均符合正态分布。受育成单位纬度和育种目标的影响,生育期呈现北早南晚,北部育成品种营养体较小、植株矮小、节数相对较少、脂肪含量较高,南部育成品种营养体较大、植株高大、单株有效节数多且主茎单节最多荚数多,部分品种蛋白质含量相对较高;(3)采用主成分分析方法综合评价表明,吉育71的ZF值最高,综合性状表现最好,表型性状与ZF值相关分析结果显示,生育期、株高、主茎节数、地上部生物产量、收获指数、主茎荚数和主茎单节最多荚数等7个表型性状可作为春大豆种质资源综合评价指标。在大豆育种中应重视利用具有丰富遗传多样性的基因资源,在亲本选配时适当选择综合性状优良、育种性状优势互补的种质。     

Diversification of indigenous gene- pool by using exotic germplasm in lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris)

Genetic diversity was studied among 21 accessions of lentil using SSR markers and morphological traits in order to assess the diversification of Indian gene-pool of lentil through introgression of exotic genes and introduction of germplasm. Among these , 16 genotypes either had ‘Precoz’ gene, an Argentine line in their pedigree or genes from introduced lines from ICARDA. Sixty five SSR markers and eight phenotypic traits were used to analyse the level of genetic diversity in these genotypes. Forty three SSR markers (66 %) were polymorphic and generated a total of 177 alleles with an average of 4.1 alleles per SSR marker. Alleles per marker ranged from 2 to 6. The polymorphic information content ranged 0.33 to 0.80 with an average of 0.57, suggesting that SSR markers are highly polymorphic among the studied genotypes. Genetic dissimilarity based a dendrogram grouped these accessions into two main clusters (cluster I and cluster II) and it ranged 33 % to 71 %, suggesting high level of genetic diversity among the genotypes. First three components of PCA based morphological traits explained higher variance (95.6 %) compared to PCA components based on SSR markers (42.7 %) of total genetic variance. Thus, more diversity was observed for morphological traits and genotypes in each cluster and sub-cluster showed a range of variability for seed size, earliness, pods/plant and plant height. Molecular and phenotypic diversity analysis thus suggested that use of germplasm of exotic lines have diversified the genetic base of lentil germplasm in India. This diversified gene-pool will be very useful in the development of improved varieties of lentil in order to address the effect of climate change, to adapt in new cropping systems niches such as mixed cropping, relay cropping, etc. and to meet consumers’ preference.     

Mapping quantitative trait loci for a common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ideotype.

Breeding a model plant that encompasses individual traits thought to enhance yield potential, known as ideotype breeding, has traditionally focused on phenotypic selection of plants with desirable morphological traits. Broadening this breeding method to the molecular level through the use of molecular markers would avoid the environmental interactions associated with phenotypic selection. A population of 110 F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from the cross between WO3391 and 'OAC Speedvale', was used to develop a genetic linkage map consisting of 105 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), simple sequence repeat (SSR), and sequence-tagged site (STS) markers. The map has a total length of 641 cM distributed across 8 linkage groups (LGs). Five of them were aligned on the core linkage map of bean. Twenty-one quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified over three environments for eight agronomic and architectural traits previously defined for a bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ideotype. The QTLs were mapped to seven LGs with several regions containing QTLs for multiple traits. At least one QTL was located for each trait and a maximum of four were associated with lodging. Total explained phenotypic variance ranged from 10.6% for hypocotyl diameter to 45.4% for maturity. Some of the QTLs identified will be useful for early generation selection of tall, upright, high-yielding lines in a breeding program.     

Genetic basis of plant height and its degree of indetermination in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

The genetic basis of plant height at various growth stages and the degree of indetermination of plant height in six mungbean genotypes (NM 92, 6601, NM 89, VC 1560D and VC 3902A) were assessed through half diallel cross. Cultivars, 6601 and NM 92, were the best general combiner for pre-flowering dry matter accumulation and minimum increase in plant height from first flower to 90% pods maturity, respectively. For these traits, the combination NM 92 x NM 89 was the best specific combiner of all the crosses. Both additive and dominant gene effects controlled the inheritance of plant height at first pod and to 90% pods maturity, degree of indetermination of plant height (DDh) from first flower to first pod maturity (DDh1), DDh from first flower to 90% pods maturity (DDh2) and DDh from first pod maturity to 90% pods maturity (DDh3). Plant height at first flower was additively inherited. The additive gene action was predominant as compared to dominant gene action for all the traits examined. High narrow and broad sense heritability estimates for DDh2 showed that better response to selection is possible for the development of mungbean genotypes with minimum increase in plant height during post-flowering development.     

我国格木的地理分布与种实表型变异

在调查格木(Erythrophleum fordii)主要天然分布区及资源现状的基础上, 研究了荚果和种子的11个表型性状在8个格木天然群体内和群体间的变异规律, 探讨了种实表型变异与地理、环境因子的相关性。结果显示: 格木天然林主要分布在广西、广东和福建3省区北回归线附近低海拔地区, 大部分呈散生状态或小群体; 格木荚果和种子的长度、宽度、形态指数以及每个荚果内种子数、种子厚度和千粒重在群体间和群体内单株间均存在显著差异; 荚果性状在群体间和群体内的变异均大于种子性状; 每个荚果内种子数与荚果的长度、形态指数以及种子的长度、大小呈显著正相关, 种子长度和宽度与荚果大小、种子千粒重与荚果宽度均呈显著正相关; 荚果形态指数与经度呈显著负相关, 种子千粒重与纬度、种子宽度与海拔和年降雨量、种子形态指数与年均气温、种子大小与年降雨量均呈显著正相关。通过聚类分析可将8个格木群体分为3类: GX03单独为1类, GX01与GX02聚为1类, 其余5个群体聚为1类。研究结果为进一步开展格木保护生物学和遗传育种研究奠定了基础。     

大豆滞绿(stay-green)突变体诱变后代表型性状变异分析

本文利用大豆滞绿突变体Z-94320经60Co-γ射线诱变的突变体后代M5、M6代为材料,进行两年的田间性状观察记录统计,用相关性分析、主成分分析、聚类分析对其17个主要表型性状统计分析。结果表明:诱变后代产生了丰富的变异,出现了多种种皮色和子叶色,产生了非滞绿性状,形成了各种生育周期,且分离出晚熟性状。通过相关性分析发现,单株粒重与株重、茎粗、主茎荚数、分枝荚数、一粒荚数、二粒荚数、三粒荚数、瘪粒荚数、虫食数呈极显著正相关,这些性状可以对产量进行预测;主成分分析在M5代提取出“产量因子”、“株型因子”、“粒荚因子”、“茎荚因子”四个主成分,对农艺性状累计贡献率达到70.50%,M6代提取出“产量因子”、“虫害因子”、“株型因子”、“茎杆因子”四个主成分,对农艺性状累计贡献率达到71.54%;聚类分析将M5、M6代材料分别划分为6类,发现同代中各类群农艺性状情况大致相似,但是各农艺性状在两代之间的变化明显,在株重、结荚高度、单株粒重等方面M6代显著高于M5代,并筛选出两株高产品系和一株特色滞绿品系。本研究逐步完善了对滞绿大豆突变体库的构建,为滞绿大豆诱变后代的遗传多样性研究提供了基础的数据分析。     

Quantitative trait locus analysis of lateral branch-related traits in cucumber (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis> L.) using recombinant inbred lines

A group of 224 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was derived from a narrow cross between 2 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) lines, namely, S94 (Northern China type with weak lateral branch growth potential and early lateral branch sprouting time) and S06 (Northern European type with strong lateral branch growth potential and late lateral branch sprouting time). These lines were then used for investigating lateral branch-related traits. A total of 36 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for the following 4 lateral branch-related traits: lateral branch average length (LBAL), lateral branch total length (LBTL), lateral branch number (LBN), and first lateral branch node (FLBN). Further, each QTL explained 3.1% (lbtl2.1, spring) to 32.3% (lbn2.3, spring) of the observed phenotypic variance. Eleven QTLs (lbal1.1, lbtl1.1, lbn1.2, flbn1.2, etc.) for different traits were found to be clustered on the e23m18d-ME23EM6c section (7.4 cM) of linkage group (LG) 1; further, 15 QTLs (lbal2.1, lbtl2.1, lbn2.1, flbn2.1, etc.) were found to be clustered on the S94A1-ME4SA4a section (13.9 cM) of LG2. Twenty-one QTLs explained more than 10% of the phenotypic variance. Moreover, lbtl1.3 (autumn, 26.2%, logarithm of odds (LOD) = 17.4; spring, 26.9%, LOD = 17.9) had stable position and contribution in both seasons. Several sequence-anchor markers (CMBR40, F, CS30, S94A1, CSWTA11B, etc.) were closely linked with some QTLs for LBAL, LBTL, LBN, and FLBN, which can be used for the marker-assisted selection to improve the plant architecture in cucumber breeding.     

我国格木的地理分布与种实表型变异

在调查格木（Erythrophleum fordii）主要天然分布区及资源现状的基础上,研究了荚果和种子的11个表型性状在8个格木天然群体内和群体间的变异规律,探讨了种实表型变异与地理、环境因子的相关性。结果显示：格木天然林主要分布在广西、广东和福建3省区北回归线附近低海拔地区,大部分呈散生状态或小群体：格木荚果和种子的长度、宽度、形态指数以及每个荚果内种子数、种子厚度和千粒重在群体间和群体内单株间均存在显著差异：荚果性状在群体间和群体内的变异均大于种子性状：每个荚果内种子数与荚果的长度、形态指数以及种子的长度、大小呈显著正相关,种子长度和宽度与荚果大小、种子千粒重与荚果宽度均呈显著正相关：荚果形态指数与经度呈显著负相关,种子千粒重与纬度、种子宽度与海拔和年降雨量、种子形态指数与年均气温、种子大小与年降雨量均呈显著正相关。通过聚类分析可将8个格木群体分为3类：GX03单独为1类,GX01与GX02聚为1类,其余5个群体聚为1类。研究结果为进一步开展格木保护生物学和遗传育种研究奠定了基础。     

Multi-environment QTL analyses for drought-related traits in a recombinant inbred population of chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.)

A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, comprising 181 lines derived from ILC588 × ILC3279, was evaluated in 10 environments across three locations with different moisture gradients. A drought resistance score (DRS) and three phenology traits—plant height (PLHT), days to flowering (DFLR), and days to maturity (MAT)—were recorded along with seven yield-related traits—grain yield (GY), biological yield (BY), harvest index (HI), the number of pods/3 plants (Pod), percentage of empty pods (%Epod), 100 seed weight (100 sw), and seed number/3 plants (SN). Two RILs (152, 162) showed the best GYs and DRSs under stressed and non-stressed environments. The quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analyses detected 93 significant QTLs (LOD ≥ 2.0) across the genome × environment interactions. The highest phenotypic variation (>24 %) was explained by the QTL_DFLR in Terbol-11. Four common possible pleiotropic QTLs on LG3 and LG4 were identified as associated with DFLR, DRS, GY, MAT, HI, SN, and Pod. No significant epistatic interactions were found between these QTLs and the other markers. However, the QTL for DRS was detected as a conserved QTL in three late planting environments. The markers H6C-07 (on LG3) and H5G01 (on LG4) were associated with QTLs for many traits in all environments studied except two. The allele ‘A’ of marker H6C07 (from the tolerant parent ILC588) explained 80 % of the yield increase under late planting and 29.8 % of that under dry environments. Concentrating on LG3 and LG4 in molecular breeding programs for drought could speed up improvement for these traits.     

Quantitative trait locus analysis of lateral branch– related traits in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) using recombinant inbred lines

A group of 224 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was derived from a narrow cross between 2 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) lines, namely, S94 (Northern China type with weak lateral branch growth potential and early lateral branch sprouting time) and S06 (Northern European type with strong lateral branch growth potential and late lateral branch sprouting time). These lines were then used for investigating lateral branch-related traits. A total of 36 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for the following 4 lateral branch-related traits: lateral branch average length (LBAL), lateral branch total length (LBTL), lateral branch number (LBN), and first lateral branch node (FLBN). Further, each QTL explained 3.1% (lbtl2.1, spring) to 32.3% (lbn2.3, spring) of the observed phenotypic variance. Eleven QTLs (lbal1.1, lbtl1.1, lbn1.2, flbn1.2, etc.) for different traits were found to be clustered on the e23m18d-ME23EM6c section (7.4 cM) of linkage group (LG) 1; further, 15 QTLs (lbal2.1, lbtl2.1, lbn2.1, flbn2.1, etc.) were found to be clustered on the S94A1-ME4SA4a section (13.9 cM) of LG2. Twenty-one QTLs explained more than 10% of the phenotypic variance. Moreover, lbtl1.3 (autumn, 26.2%, logarithm of odds (LOD) = 17.4; spring, 26.9%, LOD = 17.9) had stable position and contribution in both seasons. Several se-quence-anchor markers (CMBR40, F, CS30, S94A1, CSWTA11B, etc.) were closely linked with some QTLs for LBAL, LBTL, LBN, and FLBN, which can be used for the marker-assisted selection to improve the plant architecture in cucumber breeding.     

Molecular marker-assisted selection for malting quality traits in barley

Selection for malting quality in breeding programs by micromalting and micromashing is time-consuming, and resource-intensive. More efficient and feasible approaches for identifying genotypes with good malting quality would be highly desirable. With the advent of molecular markers, it is possible to map and tag the loci affecting malting quality. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of molecular marker assisted selection for malting quality traits. Two major quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions in six-row barley for malt extract percentage, -amylase activity, diastatic power, and malt -glucan content on chromosomes 1 (QTL1) and 4 (QTL2) have been previously identified. The flanking markers, Brz and Amy2, and WG622 and BCD402B, for these two major QTL regions were used in marker-assisted selection. Four alternative selection strategies; phenotypic selection, genotypic selection, tandem genotypic and phenotypic selection, and combined phenotypic and genotypic selection, were compared for both single and multiple trait selection in a population consisting of 92 doubled haploid lines derived from Steptoe × Morex crosses. Marker assisted selection for QTL1 (tandem genotypic and phenotypic selection, and combined phenotypic and genotypic selection) was more effective than phenotypic selection, but for QTL2 was not as effective as phenotypic selection due to a lack of QTL2 effects in the selection population. The effectiveness of tandem genotypic and phenotypic selection makes marker assisted selection practical for traits which are extremely difficult or expensive to measure such as most malting quality traits. It can substantially eliminate undesirable genotypes by early genotyping and keeping only desirable genotypes for later phenotypic selection.     

Identification of positive yield QTL alleles from exotic soybean germplasm in two backcross populations

Increasing seed yield is an important breeding goal of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] improvement efforts. Due to the small number of ancestors and subsequent breeding and selection, the genetic base of current soybean cultivars in North America is narrow. The objective of this study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) in two backcross populations developed using soybean plant introductions as donor parents. The first population included 116 BC(2)F(3)-derived lines developed using "Elgin" as the recurrent parent and PI 436684 as the donor parent (E population). The second population included 93 BC(3)F(3)-derived lines developed with "Williams 82" as the recurrent parent and PI 90566-1 as the donor parent (W population). The two populations were evaluated with 1,536 SNP markers and during 2?years for seed yield and other agronomic traits. Genotypic and phenotypic data were analyzed using the programs MapQTL and QTLNetwork to identify major QTL and epistatic QTL. In the E population, two yield QTL were identified by both MapQTL and QTLNetwork, and the PI 436684 alleles were associated with yield increases. In the W population, a QTL allele from PI 90566-1 accounted for 30?% of the yield variation; however, the PI region was also associated with later maturity and shorter plant height. No epistasis for seed yield was identified in either population. No yield QTL was previously reported at the regions where these QTL map indicating that exotic germplasm can be a source of new alleles that can improve soybean yield.     

Introgression of Drought Tolerance into Elite Basmati Rice Variety through Marker-Assisted Backcrossing

Drought is one of the major abiotic threat to rice production in the context of climate change. Super Basmati is an elite, fine grain basmati rice variety grown in Punjab, Pakistan. Due to drought sensitive in nature, its yield has been facing an alarming situation in production because of gradual decrease in irrigated water for a couple of years. Three reported novel QTLs for drought tolerance were selected for incorporation into Super Basmati by employing marker assisted selection strategy. IR55419-04 with novel QTLs was used as a donor parent. Foreground selection was performed by applying PCR based QTL linked SSR markers followed by recombinant selection by using 2–4 flanking markers. Background selection was exercised by using polymorphic SSR markers for maximum genome recovery of the Super Basmati. The individuals homozygous at the target QTLs and with maximum background of Super Basmati at the rest of the non-target genome was selected for evaluation of drought tolerance. Under drought stress conditions, the yields of all introgressed lines (ILs) were 44.2%–125.7% higher than recurrent parent. Six superior ILs that are drought tolerant and very similar to Super Basmati in terms of agronomic and grain quality traits are marked for release as drought-tolerant varieties in arid regions or for use in breeding programs of high grain quality and drought-tolerant parents.     

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of isogenic doubled haploid exotic introgression lines in maize

We characterized the genotypic and phenotypic variation in cell wall digestibility (CWD) and other agronomic traits of 50 backcross 1 generation doubled haploid (BC1DH) lines developed from the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize project. These lines were generated by introgressing 31 exotic unadapted maize races into PHZ51 and PHB47, temperate inbred lines with expired Plant Variety Protection. The 50 BC1DH lines and five check lines were genotyped with 199 single nucleotide polymorphism markers distributed across the genome. We identified, on average, 11.8% of markers with exotic donor parent alleles. This likely underestimates the proportion of donor introgressions, since we cannot discriminate monomorphic alleles from donor and recurrent parents. The potential roles of natural selection and the doubled haploid process in favouring selection of the recurrent genome are discussed. Although the proportion of donor parent genome was underestimated, donor fragments evaluated across the 50 BC1DH lines covered 92.9% of the recurrent parent genome. The evaluation of BC1DH lines for CWD revealed promising lines with CWD not differing significantly (???=?0.05) from forage quality lines used as checks. The introgression of exotic genome segments, however, was generally associated with higher ears, lodging, and late flowering. Even with limited power, our association analysis revealed quantitative trait polymorphisms associated with CWD, flowering date, and lodging.     

The relationship between parental genetic or phenotypic divergence and progeny variation in the maize nested association mapping population

Appropriate selection of parents for the development of mapping populations is pivotal to maximizing the power of quantitative trait loci detection. Trait genotypic variation within a family is indicative of the family's informativeness for genetic studies. Accurate prediction of the most useful parental combinations within a species would help guide quantitative genetics studies. We tested the reliability of genotypic and phenotypic distance estimators between pairs of maize inbred lines to predict genotypic variation for quantitative traits within families derived from biparental crosses. We developed 25 families composed of ~200 random recombinant inbred lines each from crosses between a common reference parent inbred, B73, and 25 diverse maize inbreds. Parents and families were evaluated for 19 quantitative traits across up to 11 environments. Genetic distances (GDs) among parents were estimated with 44 simple sequence repeat and 2303 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. GDs among parents had no predictive value for progeny variation, which is most likely due to the choice of neutral markers. In contrast, we observed for about half of the traits measured a positive correlation between phenotypic parental distances and within-family genetic variance estimates. Consequently, the choice of promising segregating populations can be based on selecting phenotypically diverse parents. These results are congruent with models of genetic architecture that posit numerous genes affecting quantitative traits, each segregating for allelic series, with dispersal of allelic effects across diverse genetic material. This architecture, common to many quantitative traits in maize, limits the predictive value of parental genotypic or phenotypic values on progeny variance.     

Integration of EST-SSR markers of Medicago truncatula into intraspecific linkage map of lentil and identification of QTL conferring resistance to ascochyta blight at seedling and pod stages

Microsatellite markers have been extensively utilised in the leguminosae for genome mapping and identifying major loci governing traits of interest for eventual marker-assisted selection (MAS). The lack of available lentil-specific microsatellite sequences and gene-based markers instigated the mining and transfer of expressed sequence tag simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR)/SSR sequences from the model genome Medicago truncatula, to enrich an existing intraspecific lentil genetic map. A total of 196 markers, including new 15 M. truncatula EST-SSR/SSR, were mapped using a population of 94 F₅ recombinant inbred lines produced from a cross between cv. Northfield (ILL5588)?×?cv. Digger (ILL5722) and clustered into 11 linkage groups (LG) covering 1156.4?cM. Subsequently, the size and effects of quantitative trait loci (QTL) conditioning Ascochyta lentis resistance at seedling and pod/maturity stages were characterised and compared. Three QTL were detected for seedling resistance on LG1 and LG9 and a further three were detected for pod/maturity resistance on LG1, LG4 and LG5. Together, these accounted for 34 and 61% of the total estimated phenotypic variation, respectively, and demonstrated that resistance at the different growth stages is potentially conditioned by different genomic regions. The flanking markers identified may be useful for MAS and for the future pyramiding of potentially different resistance genes into elite backgrounds that are resistant throughout the cropping season.     

Dominance Is the Major Genetic Basis of Heterosis in Rice as Revealed by Qtl Analysis Using Molecular Markers

A set of 194 F(7) lines derived from a subspecific rice cross showing strong F(1) heterosis was backcrossed to the two parents. The materials (388 BC(1)F(7) lines, 194 F(8) lines, two parents, F(1)) were phenotyped for 12 quantitative traits. A total of 37 significant QTLs (LOD >/= 2.0) was detected through 141 RFLP markers in the BC(1)F(7) populations. Twenty-seven (73%) quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected in only one of the BC(1)F(7) populations. In 82% of these cases, the heterozygotes were superior to the respective homozygotes. The remaining 10 (27%) QTLs were detected in both BC(1)F(7) populations, and the heterozygote had a phenotype falling between those of the two homozygotes and in no instances were the heterozygotes found to be superior to both homozygotes. These results suggest that dominance complementation is the major genetic basis of heterosis in rice. This conclusion was strengthened by the finding that there was no correlation between most traits and overall genome heterozygosity and that there were some recombinant inbred lines in the F(8) population having phenotypic values superior to the F(1) for all of the traits evaluated--a result not expected if overdominance was a major contributor to heterosis. Digenic epistasis was not evident.     

Assessing genetic potential in germplasm collections of crop plants by marker-trait association: a case study for potatoes with quantitative variation of resistance to late blight and maturity type

Genetic diversity of crop plants resulting from breeding and selection is preserved in gene banks. Utilization of such materials for further crop improvement depends on knowledge of agronomic performance and useful traits, which is usually obtained by phenotypic evaluation. Associations between DNA markers and agronomic characters in collections of crop plants would (i) allow assessment of the genetic potential of specific genotypes prior to phenotypic evaluation, (ii) identify superior trait alleles in germplasm collections, (iii) facilitate high resolution QTL mapping and (iv) validate candidate genes responsible for quantitative agronomic characters. The feasibility of association mapping was tested in a gene bank collection of 600 potato cultivars bred between 1850 and 1990 in different countries. The cultivars were genotyped with five DNA markers linked to previously mapped QTL for resistance to late blight and plant maturity. Specific DNA fragments were tested for association with these quantitative characters based on passport evaluation data. Highly significant association with QTL for resistance to late blight and plant maturity was detected with PCR markers specific for R1, a major gene for resistance to late blight, and anonymous PCR markers flanking the R1 locus at 0.2 Centimorgan genetic distance. The marker alleles associated with increased resistance and later plant maturity were traced to an introgression from the wild species S. demissum. These DNA markers are the first marker that are diagnostic for quantitative agronomic characters in a large collection of cultivars.