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QTL for fatty acid composition and yield in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

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Abstract

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The combined SSR-SNP map and 20 QTL for agronomic and quality traits will assist in marker assisted breeding as well as map-based cloning of key genes in linseed.

Abstract

Flax is an important nutraceutical crop mostly because it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant compounds. Canada is the largest producer and exporter of oilseed flax (or linseed), creating a growing need to improve crop productivity and quality. In this study, a genetic map was constructed based on selected 329 single nucleotide polymorphic markers and 362 simple sequence repeat markers using a recombinant inbred line population of 243 individuals from a cross between the Canadian varieties CDC Bethune and Macbeth. The genetic map consisted of 15 linkage groups comprising 691 markers with an average marker density of one marker every 1.9 cM. A total of 20 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified corresponding to 14 traits. Three QTL each for oleic acid and stearic acid, two QTL each for linoleic acid and iodine value and one each for palmitic acid, linolenic acid, oil content, seed protein, cell wall, straw weight, thousand seed weight, seeds per boll, yield and days to maturity were identified. The QTL for cell wall, straw weight, seeds per boll, yield and days to maturity all co-located on linkage group 4. Analysis of the candidate gene regions underlying the QTL identified proteins involved in cell wall and fibre synthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis as well as their metabolism and yield component traits. This study provides the foundation for assisting in map-based cloning of the QTL and marker assisted selection of a wide range of quality and agronomic traits in linseed and potentially fibre flax.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Gord Penner and Evelyn Loewen, the Cloutier lab members and the breeding teams at the Morden Research Station and the Crop Development Centre for technical assistance. We are grateful to Andrzej Walichnowski for his proofreading of the manuscript. This work was conducted as part of the Total Utilization Flax Genomics (TUFGEN) project funded by Genome Canada and co-funded by the Government of Manitoba, the Flax Council of Canada, the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission, Agricultural Development Fund and the Manitoba Flax Growers Association. Project management and support by Genome Prairie are also gratefully acknowledged.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Author notes

  1. Santosh Kumar

    Present address: Brandon Research Centre, 2701 Grande Valley Road, Brandon, MB, R7A 5Y3, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, 66 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Santosh Kumar & Sylvie Cloutier

  2. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 101 Route 100, Morden, MB, R6M 1Y5, Canada

    Frank M. You & Scott Duguid

  3. Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Helen Booker & Gordon Rowland

  4. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada

    Sylvie Cloutier

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  1. Santosh Kumar
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  2. Frank M. You
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  3. Scott Duguid
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  4. Helen Booker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sylvie Cloutier.

Additional information

Communicated by A. J. Bervillé.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

122_2015_2483_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Online Resource 1 List containing 100 bp flanking sequence on either side of each SNP used in the current study (PDF 222 kb)

122_2015_2483_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Online Resource 2 Complete SSR-SNP based genetic map of the linseed CDC Bethune/Macbeth recombinant inbred line population Supplementary material 2 (PDF 195 kb)

122_2015_2483_MOESM3_ESM.pdf

Online Resource 3 List of all annotated genes discovered underlying the QTL identified for 14 traits. The genes were identified using the CDC Bethune annotated sequence available at http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/ (PDF 4210 kb)

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Kumar, S., You, F.M., Duguid, S. et al. QTL for fatty acid composition and yield in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.). Theor Appl Genet 128, 965–984 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-015-2483-3

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