AUTHOR=Wang Zhen , Dhakal Smit , Cerit Mustafa , Wang Shichen , Rauf Yahya , Yu Shuhao , Maulana Frank , Huang Wangqi , Anderson Joshua D. , Ma Xue-Feng , Rudd Jackie C. , Ibrahim Amir M. H. , Xue Qingwu , Hays Dirk B. , Bernardo Amy , St. Amand Paul , Bai Guihua , Baker Jason , Baker Shannon , Liu Shuyu 

TITLE=QTL mapping of yield components and kernel traits in wheat cultivars TAM 112 and Duster

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1057701

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1057701

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>In the Southern Great Plains, wheat cultivars have been selected for a combination of outstanding yield and drought tolerance as a long-term breeding goal. To understand the underlying genetic mechanisms, this study aimed to dissect the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with yield components and kernel traits in two wheat cultivars `TAM 112' and `Duster' under both irrigated and dryland environments. A set of 182 recombined inbred lines (RIL) derived from the cross of TAM 112/Duster were planted in 13 diverse environments for evaluation of 18 yield and kernel related traits. High-density genetic linkage map was constructed using 5,081 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). QTL mapping analysis detected 134 QTL regions on all 21 wheat chromosomes, including 30 pleiotropic QTL regions and 21 consistent QTL regions, with 10 QTL regions in common. Three major pleiotropic QTL on the short arms of chromosomes 2B (57.5 - 61.6 Mbps), 2D (37.1 - 38.7 Mbps), and 7D (66.0 - 69.2 Mbps) colocalized with genes <italic>Ppd-B1</italic>, <italic>Ppd-D1</italic>, and <italic>FT-D1</italic>, respectively. And four consistent QTL associated with kernel length (KLEN), thousand kernel weight (TKW), plot grain yield (YLD), and kernel spike<sup>-1</sup> (KPS) (<italic>Qklen.tamu.1A.325</italic>, <italic>Qtkw.tamu.2B.137</italic>, <italic>Qyld.tamu.2D.3</italic>, and <italic>Qkps.tamu.6A.113</italic>) explained more than 5% of the phenotypic variation. QTL Qklen.tamu.1A.325 is a novel QTL with consistent effects under all tested environments. Marker haplotype analysis indicated the QTL combinations significantly increased yield and kernel traits. QTL and the linked markers identified in this study will facilitate future marker-assisted selection (MAS) for pyramiding the favorable alleles and QTL map-based cloning.</p>