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A major and stable QTL controlling wheat thousand grain weight: identification, characterization, and CAPS marker development

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Abstract

Thousand grain weight (TGW) is one of the three crucial determinants of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain yield. The identification of functional genes and development of closely linked markers are urgently needed for wheat yield improvements. In this study, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for TGW was carried out using one RIL population in four environments. A total of 8 QTL controlling TGW were detected across four chromosomes. Of them, QGW4B.4-17 was confirmed as a major and stable QTL for TGW increases of 2.19–3.06 g and high PVE of 22.5–36.3% in three environments. It was located in an interval (Rht1-TaGW-4B) of 2 Mb in physical distance that contains the Rht1 locus. Three high-confidence (HC) genes were predicted as potential candidates according to their annotated functions and expression profiles. Furthermore, a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker, TaGW-4B, was developed and verified in a panel of 205 wheat cultivars and showed a highly significant correlation with TGW, demonstrating high value for efficient marker-assisted selection. The study provided a basis for cloning the functional genes underlying the QTL and a practical and accurate marker for molecular breeding.

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Abbreviations

CAPS:

Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence

GWAS:

Genome-wide association study

TGW:

Thousand grain weight

KL:

Kernel length

KW:

Kernel width

KT:

Kernel thickness

MTAs:

Significant marker-trait associations

PVE:

Phenotypic variation explained

QTL:

Quantitative trait locus

RIL:

Recombinant inbred line

SNP:

Single-nucleotide polymorphism

HC:

High-confidence

EST:

Expressed sequence tag

MAS:

Marker-assisted selection

SSR:

Simple sequence repeat

GY:

Grain yield

AE:

Average environment

A×E:

Additive-by-environment interactions

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Acknowledgments

The SNP analysis and the construction of the genetic maps were kindly conducted by Dr. Mingcheng Luo from the University of California, Davis, and by Dr. Jirui Wang of Sichuan Agricultural University.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31971936), the Science and Technology of Shandong project (2017GNC11105, 2019LZGC001-3, ZR2019ZD15 and 2019YQ028, 2017CXGC0308).

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Author notes

  1. Xixian Duan and Haixia Yu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology/Key Laboratory of Crop Water Physiology and Drought-tolerance Germplasm Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture/Group of Wheat Quality Breeding, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, China

    Xixian Duan, Haixia Yu, Tangyuan Ning, Qingfang Li, Qianqian Liu, Tingting Guo, Min Yan, Jichun Tian & Jiansheng Chen

  2. Australia-China Joint Centre for Wheat Improvement, Future Food Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    Wujun Ma, Yun Zhao & Rongchang Yang

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

    Jiaqiang Sun

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  1. Xixian Duan
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Correspondence to Jiansheng Chen.

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Duan, X., Yu, H., Ma, W. et al. A major and stable QTL controlling wheat thousand grain weight: identification, characterization, and CAPS marker development. Mol Breeding 40, 68 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-020-01147-3

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