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Dissection of the genetic architecture underlying the plant density response by mapping plant height-related traits in maize (Zea mays L.)

Molecular Genetics and Genomics volume 290, pages 1223–1233 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Plant height is one of the most heritable traits in maize (Zea mays L.). Understanding the genetic control of plant height is important for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that regulate maize development. To investigate the genetic basis of the plant height response to density in maize, we evaluated the effects of two different plant densities (60,000 and 120,000 plant/hm2) on three plant height-related traits (plant height, ear height, and ear height-to-plant height ratio) using four sets of recombinant inbred line populations. The phenotypes observed under the two-plant density treatments indicated that high plant density increased the phenotypic performance values of the three measured traits. Twenty-three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected under the two-plant density treatments, and five QTL clusters were located. Nine QTLs were detected under the low plant density treatment, and seven QTLs were detected under the high plant density treatment. Our results suggested that plant height may be controlled mainly by a common set of genes that could be influenced by additional genetic mechanisms when the plants were grown under high plant density. Fine mapping for genetic regions of the stable QTLs across different plant density environments may provide additional information about their different responses to density. The results presented here provide useful information for further research and will help to reveal the molecular mechanisms related to plant height in response to density.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Science and Technology Innovation Talents of Henan University (No. 13HASTIT002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31230055), the Corn Industry Technology System in Henan Province (S2010-02), the Key Base Research Project of Henan Province and the fund of the State Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science (SKL2014ZH-02).

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    1. College of Agronomy, Synergetic Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops and National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, 95 Wenhua Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China

      Lixia Ku, Liangkun Zhang, Zhiqiang Tian, Shulei Guo, Huihui Su, Zhenzhen Ren, Zhiyong Wang, Guohui Li, Xiaobo Wang, Yuguang Zhu, Jinlong Zhou & Yanhui Chen

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    1. Lixia Ku
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    2. Liangkun Zhang
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    12. Yanhui Chen
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    Correspondence to Yanhui Chen.

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    L. Ku and L. Zhang contributed equally to this work.

    Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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    Ku, L., Zhang, L., Tian, Z. et al. Dissection of the genetic architecture underlying the plant density response by mapping plant height-related traits in maize (Zea mays L.). Mol Genet Genomics 290, 1223–1233 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-014-0987-1

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-014-0987-1

    Keywords

    • Maize (Zea mays L.)
    • Plant height-related trait
    • Plant density treatment
    • QTL mapping