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Genetic dissection of nitrogen nutrition in pea through a QTL approach of root, nodule, and shoot variability

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Abstract

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is the third most important grain legume worldwide, and the increasing demand for protein-rich raw material has led to a great interest in this crop as a protein source. Seed yield and protein content in crops are strongly determined by nitrogen (N) nutrition, which in legumes relies on two complementary pathways: absorption by roots of soil mineral nitrogen, and fixation in nodules of atmospheric dinitrogen through the plant–Rhizobium symbiosis. This study assessed the potential of naturally occurring genetic variability of nodulated root structure and functioning traits to improve N nutrition in pea. Glasshouse and field experiments were performed on seven pea genotypes and on the ‘Cameor’ × ‘Ballet’ population of recombinant inbred lines selected on the basis of parental contrast for root and nodule traits. Significant variation was observed for most traits, which were obtained from non-destructive kinetic measurements of nodulated root and shoot in pouches, root and shoot image analysis, 15N quantification, or seed yield and protein content determination. A significant positive relationship was found between nodule establishment and root system growth, both among the seven genotypes and the RIL population. Moreover, several quantitative trait loci for root or nodule traits and seed N accumulation were mapped in similar locations, highlighting the possibility of breeding new pea cultivars with increased root system size, sustained nodule number, and improved N nutrition. The impact on both root or nodule traits and N nutrition of the genomic regions of the major developmental genes Le and Af was also underlined.

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Acknowledgments

We thank, for their help in the experimental work, Hervé Houtin, Céline Rond, Nicolas Jeannin, Abdelkrim Souiah and Chantal Martin of the UMR102, and Nouredine El Mjiyad of the Experimental Unit (UE115, Dijon). We also thank Laurence Moreau (INRA, UMR320, Gif-sur-Yvette) for useful help in statistical analysis and Olivier Delfosse (INRA, UMR614, Reims) for 15N analyses. Gisèle Laguerre (INRA, UMR113, Montpellier) and Céline Faivre (INRA, UMR1229, Dijon) are acknowledged for their guidance in the use of growth pouches. This work was supported by the French programme Genoplante (GOP PeaC and GOP PeaC2), and by the European Union (Grain Legumes Integrated Project, a Framework Programme 6 project, grant no. FOOD-CT-2004-506223). We are grateful to the anonymous referees for their constructive remarks.

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  1. INRA, UMR102, Genetics and Ecophysiology of Grain Legumes, BP 86510, 21065, Dijon, France

    Virginie Bourion, Syed Masood Hasan Rizvi, Sarah Fournier, Henri de Larambergue, Fabien Galmiche, Pascal Marget, Gérard Duc & Judith Burstin

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  1. Virginie Bourion
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  2. Syed Masood Hasan Rizvi
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Correspondence to Virginie Bourion.

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Communicated by H. T. Nguyen.

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Bourion, V., Rizvi, S.M.H., Fournier, S. et al. Genetic dissection of nitrogen nutrition in pea through a QTL approach of root, nodule, and shoot variability. Theor Appl Genet 121, 71–86 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-010-1292-y

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