ARS | Publication request: Comparative QTL Mapping for Seed Weight Between Ryegrass and Cereals

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 2, 2008
Publication Date: June 23, 2008
Citation: Inoue, M., Brown, R., Barker, R.E., Casler, M.D., Jung, G. 2008. Comparative QTL Mapping for Seed Weight Between Ryegrass and Cereals [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Abstract No. 782-9.

Technical Abstract: Seed weight is one of the most important, complex traits in breeding and domestication process for several major food crops (e.g. rice and wheat). Comparative mapping studies provide insight into the evolution of genome organization within species and the understanding important traits conserved during domestication process. Genetic characterization of some loci underlying those traits, which are conserved throughout the domestication, is important to be investigated. We evaluated the 100 seeds weight of all progenies in an annual _ perennial ryegrass interspecific hybrid population (MFA x MFB). A well-saturated linkage map for Lolium (2n=14), previously constructed from the same population using heterologous RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) probes was used for comparative analysis of the seed weight QTL between ryegrass and cereals. The plants were grown in different geographical locations (Oregon and Wisconsin) and years (2000, 2001, and 2005). Two seed weight QTL were identified in the MFA x MFB population on linkage groups 2 and 4. These QTL were associated with variations for seed width and seed length in this population. Our results also indicated that ryegrass seed weight QTL are on syntenic chromosomal regions where QTL for seed weight related traits of rice and wheat were previously detected. This result suggests that those QTLs might have remained conserved despite of different intensities of domestication.