Abstract
Key message
Three pleiotropic QTL regions associated with spikelet number and heading date were identified, with FT-A1 considered the candidate gene for QTspn/Hd.cau-7A.
Abstract
Spikelet number traits and heading date (HD) play key roles in yield improvement of wheat and its wide adaptation to different environments. Here, we used a Recombinant Inbred Lines population derived from a cross between Yi5029 (5029) and Nongda4332 (4332) to construct a high-density genetic linkage map and identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with total spikelet number per spike (TSPN), fertile spikelet number per spike (FSPN), sterile spikelet number per spike (SSPN) and HD. A total of 22 environmentally stable QTL for TSPN, FSPN, SSPN and HD were identified. Notably, three pleiotropic QTL regions for TSPN and HD were detected on chromosomes 2A, 7A and 7D. The QTL associated with TSPN and HD on chromosome 7AS was designated QTspn/Hd.cau-7A. Furthermore, the candidate gene FT-A1 located in the region of QTspn/Hd.cau-7A had a single-nucleotide polymorphism (T–G) within the third exon, which might be the cause of diversity in spikelet number and HD between the two parents. Additionally, we developed a semi-thermal asymmetric reverse PCR (STARP) marker to analyze the geographical distribution and evolution of FT-A1 (T or G) alleles. This study contributes to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the four traits (TSPN, FSPN, SSPN and HD) and provides further insights into the genetic relationship between spikelet number traits and HD in wheat.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 91935304 and 31991210) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFD0101004). The authors would like to thank Yanming Ma (Institute of Crop Germplasm Resource, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences) for kindly provided the data of 152 wheat accessions from Xinjiang, China used for analyzing the effects of FT-A1.
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ZN conceived the project; XC developed the RIL population; ZC constructed the linkage map. ZC, XC, ZW, RB and DD collected data for the RIL population under six environments; ZC developed markers for the QTL region of interest; ZC and LC developed the STARP marker to genotype hexaploid and tetraploid wheat; ZW helped to analysis the results of re-sequencing; QS, AZ, MX, WG, ZH, HP and YY assisted in revising the manuscript; ZC analyzed experimental results and wrote the manuscript.
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Figure S1
Frequency distribution histograms of the 5029/4332 RIL population for total spikelet number (TSPN), fertile spikelet number (FSPN), sterile spikelet number (SSPN) and heading date (HD) based on the BLUP value. The y-axis represents the density of each trait. P < 0.01 indicates a significant departure from the normal distribution (Shapiro–Wilk test). (TIFF 426 kb)
Figure S2
Comparation of total spikelet number per spike, floret number per spikelet and grain number per spike between FT-A1(T) and FT-A1(G) alleles of 152 accessions from Xinjiang from China. (TIFF 186 kb)
Figure S3
Relative expression levels of FT-A1 with different haplotypes. 6554 represents Jingdong6, JM22 represents Jimai22, BN207 represents Bainong207 and 3338 represents Nongda3338. (TIFF 166 kb)
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Chen, Z., Cheng, X., Chai, L. et al. Pleiotropic QTL influencing spikelet number and heading date in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Theor Appl Genet 133, 1825–1838 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-020-03556-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-020-03556-6