Abstract
Heading time (HT, days from sowing to heading) is an important agronomic trait in rice. Physiologically, HT can be divided into two stages: vegetative growth time (VGT) and reproductive growth time (RGT). A number of studies for mapping QTLs conferring HT in rice have been reported, but none of them has tried to map HT-related QTLs based on their component traits (VGT and RGT). The present study aims to map HT-related QTLs in rice according not only to the performance of HT, but also the performances of VGT and RGT. A method based on an empirical equation of leaf age growth was developed to partition HT into VGT and RGT. An indica/japonica DH population and a corresponding RFLP map were constructed for the study. The methods of composite interval mapping and multiple-trait composite interval mapping were used to map QTLs. A total of 19 QTLs were mapped on all 12 rice chromosomes with the exception of chromosomes 1 and 4. Results showed that: (1) more QTLs could be detected by partitioning HT into VGT and RGT; (2) the genetic variation of HT was largely attributed to VGT; and (3) the two component stages were relatively independent in terms of QTL effects, suggesting that the ratio between VGT and RGT could be genetically adjusted without apparently altering HT.
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Received: 1 June 2000 / Accepted: 16 October 2000
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Zhou, Y., Li, W., Wu, W. et al. Genetic dissection of heading time and its components in rice. Theor Appl Genet 102, 1236–1242 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220100539
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220100539