Quantitative trait loci for yield and grain plumpness relative to maturity in three populations of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown in a low rain-fall environment

Bulti Tesso Obsa; Jason Eglinton; Stewart Coventry; Timothy March; Maxime Guillaume; Thanh Phuoc Le; Matthew Hayden; Peter Langridge; Delphine Fleury

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178111

Quantitative trait loci for yield and grain plumpness relative to maturity in three populations of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown in a low rain-fall environment

PLoS One. 2017 May 23;12(5):e0178111. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178111. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Bulti Tesso Obsa¹, Jason Eglinton², Stewart Coventry², Timothy March², Maxime Guillaume³, Thanh Phuoc Le⁴, Matthew Hayden⁵, Peter Langridge^{1

2}, Delphine Fleury¹

Affiliations

¹ Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia.
² School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia.
³ Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France.
⁴ Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture & Applied Biology, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam.
⁵ Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, Agribio, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Identifying yield and grain plumpness QTL that are independent of developmental variation or phenology is of paramount importance for developing widely adapted and stable varieties through the application of marker assisted selection. The current study was designed to dissect the genetic basis of yield performance and grain plumpness in southern Australia using three doubled haploid (DH) populations developed from crosses between adapted parents that are similar in maturity and overall plant development. Three interconnected genetic populations, Commander x Fleet (CF), Commander x WI4304 (CW), and Fleet x WI4304 (FW) developed from crossing of Australian elite barley genotypes, were used to map QTL controlling yield and grain plumpness. QTL for grain plumpness and yield were analysed using genetic linkage maps made of genotyping-by-sequencing markers and major phenology genes, and field trials at three drought prone environments for two growing seasons. Seventeen QTL were detected for grain plumpness. Eighteen yield QTL explaining from 1.2% to 25.0% of the phenotypic variation were found across populations and environments. Significant QTL x environment interaction was observed for all grain plumpness and yield QTL, except QPlum.FW-4H.1 and QYld.FW-2H.1. Unlike previous yield QTL studies in barley, none of the major developmental genes, including Ppd-H1, Vrn-H1, Vrn-H2 and Vrn-H3, that drive barley adaption significantly affected grain plumpness and yield here. Twenty-two QTL controlled yield or grain plumpness independently of known maturity QTL or genes. Adjustment for maturity effects through co-variance analysis had no major effect on these yield QTL indicating that they control yield per se.

MeSH terms

Australia
Chromosome Mapping
Droughts
Edible Grain / genetics*
Edible Grain / growth & development*
Genetic Linkage
Hordeum / genetics*
Hordeum / growth & development*
Phenotype
Plant Proteins / genetics
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Quantitative Trait Loci
Rain*

Substances

Plant Proteins

Grants and funding

This work is partially funded by the South Australia Grain Industry Trust Fund (UA 1202), and by Australian Research Council, Grains Research and Development Corporation, the South Australian Government, the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology, and The University of Adelaide through the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.