Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

QTL mapping for yield and photosynthetic related traits under different water regimes in wheat

  • Published:
Molecular Breeding Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The improvement for drought tolerance requires understanding of the genetic control of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) reaction to drought. In this study, a set of 131 recombinant inbred lines of wheat were investigated under well-watered (WW) and drought stress (DS) environments across 2 years to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield and physiological traits. A total of 225 QTLs were detected, including 32 non-environment-specific loci that were significant in both DS and WW, one drought-specific locus and two watering-specific loci. Three consistently-expressed QTLs (QTkw-3A.2, QTss-1A, and QScn-7A.1) were identified in at least three environments and the QTkw-1D.1 was significant in DS across the 2 years. By unconditional and conditional QTL analysis, spike number per plant and kernel number per spike were more important than thousand-kernel weight for grain yield (GY) at the given genetic background. Meta-analysis identified 67 meta-QTLs that contained QTLs for at least two traits. High frequency co-location of QTLs was found among either the spike-related traits or the six physiological traits. Four photosynthesis traits (CHL, LWUE, P N, and C i) were co-located with GY and/or yield components on various MQTLs. The results provided QTLs that warrant further study for drought tolerance breeding and are helpful for understanding the genetic basis of drought tolerance and the genetic contribution of yield components to GY at individual QTL level in wheat.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

CHL:

Chlorophyll content (SPAD value)

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

DM:

Above ground dry matter

DS:

Drought stress treatment

E :

Transpiration rate

FSS:

Fertile spikelet number per spike

g s :

Stomatal conductance

GY:

Grain yield

HI:

Harvest index

KNS:

Kernel number per spike

KWS:

Kernel weight per spike

LWUE:

Leaf water use efficiency

MAS:

Marker-assisted selection

PH:

Plant height

P N :

Net photosynthetic rate

QTL:

Quantitative trait locus

MQTL:

Meta-QTL

RIL:

Recombinant inbred line

SCN:

Spikelet compactness

SL:

Spike length

SNPP:

Spike number per plant

SSS:

Sterile spikelet number per spike

TKW:

Thousand kernel weight

TSS:

Total spikelet number per spike

WW:

Well-watered treatment

References

  • Acuna-Galindo MA, Mason RE, Subramanian NK, Hays DB (2015) Meta-analysis of wheat QTL regions associated with adaptation to drought and heat stress. Crop Sci 55:477–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blum A (1988) Plant breeding for stress environments. CRC Press

  • Churchill GA, Doerge RW (1994) Empirical threshold values for quantitative trait mapping. Genetics 138:963–971

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cui F, Li J, Ding AM, Zhao CH, Wang L, Wang XQ, Li SS, Bao YG, Li XF, Feng DS, Kong LR, Wang HG (2011) Conditional QTL mapping for plant height with respect to the length of the spike and internode in two mapping populations of wheat. Theor Appl Genet 122:1517–1536

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cui F, Zhao CH, Li J, Ding AM, Li XF, Bao YG, Li JM, Ji J, Wang HG (2012) Kernel weight per spike: what contributes to it at the individual QTL level? Mol Breed :1–14

  • Ding AM, Cui F, Li J, Zhao CH, Wang L, Qi XL, Bao YG, Li XF, Wang HG (2013) QTL mapping for grain yield conditioned on its component traits in two RIL populations of bread wheat. Cereal Res Commun 41:45–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doerge RW (2002) Mapping and analysis of quantitative trait loci in experimental populations. Nat Rev Genet 3:43–52

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Driever SM, Lawson T, Andralojc PJ, Raines CA, Parry MAJ (2014) Natural variation in photosynthetic capacity, growth, and yield in 64 field-grown wheat genotypes. J Exp Bot 65:4959–4973

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer RA, Rees D, Sayre KD, Lu ZM, Condon AG, Saavedra AL (1998) Wheat yield progress associated with higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate, and cooler canopies. Crop Sci 38:1467–1475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffinet B, Gerber S (2000) Quantitative trait loci: a meta-analysis. Genetics 155:463–473

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Groos C, Robert N, Bervas E, Charmet G (2003) Genetic analysis of grain protein-content, grain yield and thousand-kernel weight in bread wheat. Theor Appl Genet 106:1032–1040

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guo LB, Xing YZ, Mei HW, Xu CG, Shi CH, Wu P, Luo LJ (2005) Dissection of component QTL expression in yield formation in rice. Plant Breed 124:127–132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Kong FM, Xu YF, Zhao Y, Liang X, Wang YY, An DG, Li SS (2012) QTL mapping for seedling traits in wheat grown under varying concentrations of N, P and K nutrients. Theor Appl Genet 124:851–865

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanocq E, Laperche A, Jaminon O, Laine AL, Le Gouis J (2007) Most significant genome regions involved in the control of earliness traits in bread wheat, as revealed by QTL meta-analysis. Theor Appl Genet 114:569–584

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • He ZH, Zheng TC, Zhang XK, Yin GH, Wang LN, Han YL, Chen L, Huang F, Tang JW, Xia XC (2011) Genetic gains in grain yield, net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance achieved in Henan Province of China between 1981 and 2008. Field Crop Res 122:225–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar N, Kulwal PL, Balyan HS, Gupta PK (2007) QTL mapping for yield and yield contributing traits in two mapping populations of bread wheat. Mol Breeding 19:163–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landjeva S, Neumann K, Lohwasser U, Borner A (2008) Molecular mapping of genomic regions associated with wheat seedling growth under osmotic stress. Biol Plantarum 52:259–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laperche A, Brancourt-Hulmel M, Heumez E, Gardet O, Hanocq E, Devienne-Barret F, Le Gouis J (2007) Using genotype x nitrogen interaction variables to evaluate the QTL involved in wheat tolerance to nitrogen constraints. Theor Appl Genet 115:399–415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li SP, Wang CS, Chang XP, Jing RL (2012) Genetic dissection of developmental behavior of grain weight in wheat under diverse temperature and water regimes. Genetica 140:393–405

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li SS, Jia JZ, Wei XY, Zhang XC, Li LZ, Chen HM, Fan YD, Sun HY, Zhao XH, Lei TD, Xu YF, Jiang FS, Wang HG, Li LH (2007) A intervarietal genetic map and QTL analysis for yield traits in wheat. Mol Breeding 20:167–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XM, He ZH, Xiao YG, Xia XC, Trethowan R, Wang HJ, Chen XM (2015a) QTL mapping for leaf senescence-related traits in common wheat under limited and full irrigation. Euphytica 203:569–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XM, Xia XC, Xiao YG, He ZH, Wang DS, Trethowan R, Wang HJ, Chen XM (2015b) QTL mapping for plant height and yield components in common wheat under water-limited and full irrigation environments. Crop Pasture Sci 66:660–670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu GF, Yang J, Xu HM, Hayat Y, Zhu J (2008) Genetic analysis of grain yield conditioned on its component traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Aust J Agric Res 59:189–195

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Hall MD, Griffey CA, McKendry AL (2009) Meta-analysis of QTL associated with Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat. Crop Sci 49:1955–1968

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu XL, Li RZ, Chang XP, Jing RL (2013) Mapping QTLs for seedling root traits in a doubled haploid wheat population under different water regimes. Euphytica 189:51–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeffler M, Schoen C-C, Miedaner T (2009) Revealing the genetic architecture of FHB resistance in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by QTL meta-analysis. Mol Breeding 23:473–488

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes MS, Reynolds MP, McIntyre CL, Mathews KL, Kamali MRJ, Mossad M, Feltaous Y, Tahir ISA, Chatrath R, Ogbonnaya F, Baum M (2013) QTL for yield and associated traits in the Seri/Babax population grown across several environments in Mexico, in the West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia regions. Theor Appl Genet 126:971–984

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maccaferri M, Sanguineti MC, Corneti S, Ortega JLA, Ben Salem M, Bort J, DeAmbrogio E, del Moral LFG, Demontis A, El-Ahmed A, Maalouf F, Machlab H, Martos V, Moragues M, Motawaj J, Nachit M, Nserallah N, Ouabbou H, Royo C, Slama A, Tuberosa R (2008) Quantitative trait loci for grain yield and adaptation of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) across a wide range of water availability. Genetics 178:489–511

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Maphosa L, Langridge P, Taylor H, Parent B, Emebiri LC, Kuchel H, Reynolds MP, Chalmers KJ, Okada A, Edwards J, Mather DE (2014) Genetic control of grain yield and grain physical characteristics in a bread wheat population grown under a range of environmental conditions. Theor Appl Genet 127:1607–1624

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre CL, Mathews KL, Rattey A, Chapman SC, Drenth J, Ghaderi M, Reynolds M, Shorter R (2010) Molecular detection of genomic regions associated with grain yield and yield-related components in an elite bread wheat cross evaluated under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Theor Appl Genet 120:527–541

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Munns R, Richards RA (2007) Recent advances in breeding wheat for drought and salt stresses. In: Hasegawa PM, Jain SM (eds) Jenks MA. Advances in molecular breeding toward drought and salt tolerant crops, Springer Berlin, pp. 565–585

  • Peleg Z, Fahima T, Krugman T, Abbo S, Yakir D, Korol AB, Saranga Y (2009) Genomic dissection of drought resistance in durum wheat × wild emmer wheat recombinant inbreed line population. Plant Cell Environ 32:758–779

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quarrie SA, Quarrie SP, Radosevic R, Rancic D, Kaminska A, Barnes JD, Leverington M, Ceoloni C, Dodig D (2006) Dissecting a wheat QTL for yield present in a range of environments: from the QTL to candidate genes. J Exp Bot 57:2627–2637

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quarrie SA, Steed A, Calestani C, Semikhodskii A, Lebreton C, Chinoy C, Steele N, Pljevljakusic D, Waterman E, Weyen J, Schondelmaier J, Habash DZ, Farmer P, Saker L, Clarkson DT, Abugalieva A, Yessimbekova M, Turuspekov Y, Abugalieva S, Tuberosa R, Sanguineti MC, Hollington PA, Aragues R, Royo A, Dodig D (2005) A high-density genetic map of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from the cross Chinese Spring × SQ1 and its use to compare QTLs for grain yield across a range of environments. Theor Appl Genet 110:865–880

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds MP, Delgado MI, Gutierrez-Rodriguez M, Larque-Saavedra A (2000) Photosynthesis of wheat in a warm, irrigated environment I: genetic diversity and crop productivity. Field Crop Res 66:37–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimshi D, Ephrat J (1975) Stomatal behaviour of wheat cultivars in relation to their transpiration, photosynthesis and yield. Agron J 67:326–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun XY, Wu K, Zhao Y, Kong FM, Han GZ, Jiang HM, Huang XJ, Li RJ, Wang HG, Li SS (2009) QTL analysis of kernel shape and weight using recombinant inbred lines in wheat. Euphytica 165:615–624

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Basten CJ, Zeng ZB (2007) Windows QTL Cartographer 2.5. Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. ( http://statgen.ncsu.edu/qtlcart/WQTLCart.htm)

  • Wang YY, Sun XY, Zhao Y, Kong FM, Guo Y, Zhang GZ, Pu YY, Wu K, Li SS (2011) Enrichment of a common wheat genetic map and QTL mapping for fatty acid content in grain. Plant Sci 181:65–75

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang ZH, Wu XS, Ren Q, Chang XP, Li RZ, Jing RL (2010) QTL mapping for developmental behavior of plant height in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Euphytica 174:447–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JX, Jenkins JN, McCarty JC, Zhu J (2004) Genetic association of yield with its component traits in a recombinant inbred line population of cotton. Euphytica 140:171–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu XS, Wang ZH, Chang XP, Jing RL (2010) Genetic dissection of the developmental behaviours of plant height in wheat under diverse water regimes. J Exp Bot 61:2923–2937

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YF, An DG, Liu DC, Zhang AM, Xu HX, Li B (2012a) Mapping QTLs with epistatic effects and QTL × treatment interactions for salt tolerance at seedling stage of wheat. Euphytica 186:233–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YF, An DG, Liu DC, Zhang AM, Xu HX, Li B (2012b) Molecular mapping of QTLs for grain zinc, iron and protein concentration of wheat across two environments. Field Crop Res 138:57–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YF, Li SS, Li LH, Zhang XT, Xu HX, An DG (2013) Mapping QTLs for salt tolerance with additive, epistatic and QTLxtreatment interaction effects at seedling stage in wheat. Plant Breed 132:276–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YF, Wang RF, Tong YP, Zhao HT, Xie QE, Liu DC, Zhang AM, Li B, Xu HX, An DG (2014) Mapping QTLs for yield and nitrogen-related traits in wheat: influence of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on QTL expression. Theor Appl Genet 127:59–72

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang DL, Jing RL, Chang XP, Li W (2007) Quantitative trait loci mapping for chlorophyll fluorescence and associated traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum). J Integr Plant Biol 49:646–654

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JA, Hao CY, Ren Q, Chang XP, Liu GR, Jing RL (2011) Association mapping of dynamic developmental plant height in common wheat. Planta 234:891–902

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L-Y, Liu D-C, Guo X-L, Yang W-L, Sun J-Z, Wang D-W, Zhang A (2010a) Genomic distribution of quantitative trait loci for yield and yield-related traits in common wheat. J Integr Plant Biol 52:996–1007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XY, Deng ZY, Wang YR, Li JF, Tian JC (2014) Unconditional and conditional QTL analysis of kernel weight related traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in multiple genetic backgrounds. Genetica 142:371–379

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang ZB, Xu P, Jia JZ, Zhou RH (2010b) Quantitative trait loci for leaf chlorophyll fluorescence traits in wheat. Aust J Crop Sci 4:571–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J (1999) Mixed model approaches of mapping genes for complex quantitative traits. Journal of Zhejiang University (Natural Science) 33:327–335

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31301400), National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2011CB100100), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (no. C2013503044), and Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University (no. ZW2011001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources and Hebei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water-Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Yun-Feng Xu, Fei-Fei Ma, Hong-Xing Xu, Peng-Tao Ma & Diao-Guo An

  2. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology and Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, China

    Si-Shen Li

  3. The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Li-Hui Li

  4. Shijiazhuang Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050041, China

    Xiao-Yi Fu & Zhan-Liang Shi

Authors
  1. Yun-Feng Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Si-Shen Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Li-Hui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fei-Fei Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xiao-Yi Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhan-Liang Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hong-Xing Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Peng-Tao Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Diao-Guo An
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diao-Guo An.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest statement

The authors (Yun-Feng Xu, Si-Shen Li, Li-Hui Li, Fei-Fei Ma, Xiao-Yi Fu, Zhan-Liang Shi, Hong-Xing Xu, Peng-Tao Ma, and Diao-Guo An) declare that our experiments comply with the current laws of China and we have no conflicts of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(PDF 314 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, YF., Li, SS., Li, LH. et al. QTL mapping for yield and photosynthetic related traits under different water regimes in wheat. Mol Breeding 37, 34 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-016-0583-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-016-0583-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation