Heterosis-associated genes confer high yield in super hybrid rice

Theor Appl Genet. 2020 Dec;133(12):3287-3297. doi: 10.1007/s00122-020-03669-y. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Abstract

Heterosis QTLs, including qSS7 and qHD8, with dominance effects were identified through GBS and large-scale phenotyping of CSSLs and hybrid F1 populations in a paddy field. Heterosis has contributed immensely to agricultural production, but its genetic basis is unclear. We evaluated dominance effects by creating two hybrid populations: a B-homo set with a homozygous background and heterozygous chromosomal segments and a B-heter set with a heterozygous background and homozygous segments. This was achieved by crossing a set of 156 backcrossed-derived chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) with their recurrent parent (9311), the male parent of the first super-high-yield hybrid Liangyoupei9 (LYP9), and with the female parent (PA64s) of the hybrid. The CSSLs were subjected to a genotyping-by-sequencing analysis to develop a genetic map of segments introduced from the PA64s. We evaluated the heterotic effects on eight yield-related traits in the hybrid variety and F1 populations in large-scale field experiments over 2 years. Using a linkage map consisting of high-density SNPs, we identified heterosis-associated genes in LYP9. Five candidate genes contributed to the high yield of LYP9, with qSS7 and qHD8 repeatedly detected in both B-hybrid populations. The heterozygous segments harboring qSS7 and qHD8 showed dominance effects that contributed to the heterosis of yield components in the hybrid rice variety Liangyoupei9.

MeSH terms

  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Chromosomes, Plant / genetics*
  • Epistasis, Genetic*
  • Hybrid Vigor*
  • Oryza / genetics
  • Oryza / growth & development*
  • Plant Proteins / genetics*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Quantitative Trait Loci*

Substances

  • Plant Proteins