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Identification of quantitative trait loci influencing aerial morphogenesis in the model legume Medicago truncatula

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Abstract

In many legume crops, especially in forage legumes, aerial morphogenesis defined as growth and development of plant organs, is an essential trait as it determines plant and seed biomass as well as forage quality (protein concentration, dry matter digestibility). Medicago truncatula is a model species for legume crops. A set of 29 accessions of M. truncatula was evaluated for aerial morphogenetic traits. A recombinant inbred lines (RILs) mapping population was used for analysing quantitative variation in aerial morphogenetic traits and QTL detection. Genes described to be involved in aerial morphogenetic traits in other species were mapped to analyse co-location between QTLs and genes. A large variation was found for flowering date, morphology and dynamics of branch elongation among the 29 accessions and within the RILs population. Flowering date was negatively correlated to main stem and branch length. QTLs were detected for all traits, and each QTL explained from 5.2 to 59.2% of the phenotypic variation. A QTL explaining a large part of genetic variation for flowering date and branch growth was found on chromosome 7. The other chromosomes were also involved in the variation detected in several traits. Mapping of candidate genes indicates a co-location between a homologue of Constans gene or a flowering locus T (FT) gene and the QTL of flowering date on chromosome 7. Other candidate genes for several QTLs are described.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Catherine Rameau (INRA Versailles) for the primer sequences of pea genes G3H (Le) and TFL1a. We thank Aline Gilly and Joël Jousse for phenotyping the plants, Jean-Louis Durand and Bruno Moulia for advice on branch elongation modelling. The work was supported by the Action Transversale Structurante Medicago truncatula of INRA (2000–2002). R. Ayadi and J.B. Pierre received grants from Région Poitou-Charentes (France).

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Author notes

  1. Fabien Chardon

    Present address: Unité de la Nutrition Azotée des Plantes, INRA, Route de St Cyr, 78026, Versailles, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, Unité de Génétique et d’Amélioration des Plantes Fourragères, BP6, 86600, Lusignan, France

    Bernadette Julier, Radia Ayadi, Jean-Baptiste Pierre, Philippe Barre & Christian Huyghe

  2. Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Microorganismes (LIPM), CNRS-INRA, BP27, 31326, Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

    Thierry Huguet & Fabien Chardon

  3. Laboratoire Biotechnologie et Amélioration des Plantes, INP-ENSAT, BP32607, 31326, Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France

    Thierry Huguet & Fabien Chardon

  4. INRA, Station de Génétique et d’Amélioration des Plantes, Domaine de Melgueil, 34130, Mauguio, France

    Jean-Marie Prosperi

  5. Faculté des Sciences Agro-Vétérinaires et Biologiques, Université Saâd Dahleb, 09000, Blida, Algeria

    Radia Ayadi

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  1. Bernadette Julier
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Correspondence to Bernadette Julier.

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Communicated by C. Hackett.

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Julier, B., Huguet, T., Chardon, F. et al. Identification of quantitative trait loci influencing aerial morphogenesis in the model legume Medicago truncatula . Theor Appl Genet 114, 1391–1406 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-007-0525-1

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