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Identification of QTL for stalk sugar-related traits in a population of recombinant inbred lines of maize

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Abstract

Increasing sugar content in silage maize stalk improves its forage quality and palatability. The genetic mapping and characterization of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is considered a valuable tool for trait enhancement, yet little information on QTL for stalk sugar content in maize has been reported. To this end, we investigated QTLs associated with stalk sugar traits including Brix, plant height (PHT), three ear leaves area (TELA), and days to silking (DTS) in two environments using a population of 202 recombinant inbred lines from a cross between YXD053, which has a high stalk sugar content, and Y6-1, which has a low stalk sugar content. A genetic map with 180 SSR and 10 AFLP markers was constructed, which spanned 1,648.6 cM of the maize genome with an average marker distance of 8.68 cM, and QTLs were detected using composite interval mapping. Seven QTLs controlling Brix were mapped on chromosomes 1, 2, 6 and 9 in the combined environments. These QTLs could explain 2.69–13.08 % of the phenotypic variance. One major QTL for Brix on chromosome 2 located between the markers bnlg1909 and umc1635 explained 13.08 % of the phenotypic variance. Y6-1 also contributed QTL allele for increased Brix on chromosome 6. One major QTLs controlling PHT on chromosome 1 and TELA on chromosome 4 were also identified and accounted for 13.68 and 12.49 % of the phenotypic variance, respectively. QTL alleles for increased DTS were located on chromosomes 1 and 5 of YXD053. Significant epistatic effects were identified in four traits, but no significant QTL × environment interactions were observed. The information presented here may be valuable for stalk sugar content improvement via marker-assisted selection in silage maize breeding programs.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31071426) and was funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Yunlong Bian, Donglei Sun, Xiao Gu, Yijun Wang, Zhitong Yin, Dexiang Deng, Yanqiu Wang, Feifei Wu & Guosheng Li

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  1. Yunlong Bian
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  2. Donglei Sun
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  3. Xiao Gu
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  7. Yanqiu Wang
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Correspondence to Yunlong Bian.

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Bian, Y., Sun, D., Gu, X. et al. Identification of QTL for stalk sugar-related traits in a population of recombinant inbred lines of maize. Euphytica 198, 79–89 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-014-1085-5

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