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Mapping QTL for agronomic traits in breeding populations

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Abstract

Detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in breeding populations offers the advantage that these QTL are of direct relevance for the improvement of crops via knowledge-based breeding. As phenotypic data are routinely generated in breeding programs and the costs for genotyping are constantly decreasing, it is tempting to exploit this information to unravel the genetic architecture underlying important agronomic traits in crops. This review characterizes the germplasm from breeding populations available for QTL detection, provides a classification of the different QTL mapping approaches that are available, and highlights important considerations concerning study design and biometrical models suitable for QTL analysis.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Jochen Reif, H. Friedrich Utz, and Matthew R. Tucker for helpful discussions and critically reading the manuscript and greatly appreciates the helpful comments and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Plant Breeding Institute, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    Tobias Würschum

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  1. Tobias Würschum
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Correspondence to Tobias Würschum.

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Communicated by R. Varshney.

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Würschum, T. Mapping QTL for agronomic traits in breeding populations. Theor Appl Genet 125, 201–210 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-012-1887-6

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