Identification and Validation of a Novel Major Quantitative Trait Locus for Plant Height in Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Zhiqiang Wang, Haiyan Hu, Xiaojun Jiang, Yang Tao, Yu Lin, Fangkun Wu, Shuai Hou, Shihang Liu, Caixia Li, Guangdeng Chen, Yaxi Liu
Abstract
Plant height (PH) plays a pivotal role in plant morphological architecture and is associated with yield potential in wheat. For the quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis, a recombinant inbred line population was developed between varieties differing significantly in PH. Two major QTL were identified on chromosomes 4B (QPh.sicau-4B) and 6D (QPh.sicau-6D) in multiple environments, which were then validated in two different backgrounds by using closely linked markers. QPh.sicau-4B explained 10.1%–21.3% of the phenotypic variance, and the location corresponded to the dwarfing gene Rht-B1. QPh.sicau-6D might be a novel QTL for PH, explaining 6.6%–13.6% of the phenotypic variance and affecting spike length, thousand-kernel weight, and spikelet compactness. Three genes associated with plant growth and development were identified in the physical interval of QPh.sicau-6D. Collectively, we identified a novel stable and major PH QTL, QPh.sicau-6D, which could aid in the development of closely linked markers for marker-assisted breeding and cloning genes underlying this QTL.