Dissecting quantitative trait loci for boron efficiency across multiple environments in Brassica napus

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45215. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045215. Epub 2012 Sep 24.

Abstract

High yield is the most important goal in crop breeding, and boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants. However, B deficiency, leading to yield decreases, is an agricultural problem worldwide. Brassica napus is one of the most sensitive crops to B deficiency, and considerable genotypic variation exists among different cultivars in response to B deficiency. To dissect the genetic basis of tolerance to B deficiency in B. napus, we carried out QTL analysis for seed yield and yield-related traits under low and normal B conditions using the double haploid population (TNDH) by two-year and the BQDH population by three-year field trials. In total, 80 putative QTLs and 42 epistatic interactions for seed yield, plant height, branch number, pod number, seed number, seed weight and B efficiency coefficient (BEC) were identified under low and normal B conditions, singly explaining 4.15-23.16% and 0.53-14.38% of the phenotypic variation. An additive effect of putative QTLs was a more important controlling factor than the additive-additive effect of epistatic interactions. Four QTL-by-environment interactions and 7 interactions between epistatic interactions and the environment contributed to 1.27-4.95% and 1.17-3.68% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. The chromosome region on A2 of SYLB-A2 for seed yield under low B condition and BEC-A2 for BEC in the two populations was equivalent to the region of a reported major QTL, BE1. The B. napus homologous genes of Bra020592 and Bra020595 mapped to the A2 region and were speculated to be candidate genes for B efficiency. These findings reveal the complex genetic basis of B efficiency in B. napus. They provide a basis for the fine mapping and cloning of the B efficiency genes and for breeding B-efficient cultivars by marker-assisted selection (MAS).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Boron / deficiency*
  • Brassica napus / genetics*
  • Breeding
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Environment
  • Epistasis, Genetic
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genotype
  • Haploidy
  • Phenotype
  • Quantitative Trait Loci*
  • Seeds / genetics*

Substances

  • Boron

Grants and funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [30971861]: http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portal0/default166.htm; and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2011PY150]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.