Genetic dissection of end-use quality traits in two widely adapted wheat cultivars ‘TAM 111’ and ‘TAM 112’

Authors: DHAKAL, SMIT - Texas A&M Agrilife; LIU, XIAOXIAO - Texas A&M Agrilife; GIRARD, AUDREY - Texas A&M Agrilife; Chu, Chenggen; YANG, YAN - Texas A&M Agrilife; WANG, SHICHEN - Texas A&M Agrilife; XUE, QINGWU - Texas A&M University; RUDD, JACKIE - Texas A&M Agrilife; IBRAHIM, AMIR - Texas A&M Agrilife; AWIKA, JOSEPH - Texas A&M Agrilife

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2020
Publication Date: 4/29/2021
Citation: Dhakal, S., Liu, X., Girard, A., Chu, C.N., Yang, Y., Wang, S., Xue, Q., Rudd, J.C., Ibrahim, A.M., Awika, J. 2021. Genetic dissection of end-use quality traits in two widely adapted wheat cultivars ‘TAM 111’ and ‘TAM 112’. Crop Science. 61:1944-1959. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20415.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20415

Interpretive Summary: Analysis of complex traits to understand genetic control and environmental influence on the traits can ultimately help develop tools for plant breeders. We conducted a study in wheat to identify genes affecting end-use quality. A set of lines derived from the cross between varieties ‘TAM 112’ and ‘TAM 111’ were grown under several diverse environments and evaluated for end-use quality traits including seed hardness, seed size, seed weight, flour yield and dough mixing characteristics. Based on these quality data, along with genetic information of each wheat line, several genomic regions associated with various end-use quality traits were consistently identified in two or more environments. This study not only confirmed previously identified major genes, but also detected new favorable genes that can be used for improving end-use quality traits of wheat. This will enable breeders to develop higher quality wheat for end users, such as millers, bakers, and consumers.

Technical Abstract: Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis genetically dissects complex traits, discerns their genetic control and genotype-by-environment interactions and ultimately helps marker development for assisted breeding selection. A mapping population of 124 F5:7 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross of ‘TAM 112’/‘TAM 111’ was grown under seven diverse environments and evaluated for end-use quality traits including kernel, flour and dough mixing characteristics. The objective of this study was to detect QTL associated with end-use quality traits in these two cultivars. Through 5,948 single nucleotide polymorphisms, 39 QTL regions were consistently identified in two or more environments or QTL analyses. Thirteen QTL regions linked to two or more traits were also identified. Among them, eleven QTL regions were in common on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 2D and 4D linked to kernel hardness, kernel diameter, single kernel weight, flour yield, midline peak time with logarithm of odds (LOD) up to 42.0 and explained up to 49.3% phenotypic variations. Notably, Glu-D1 loci at 414.3 Mb on chromosome 1D strongly influenced dough rheology and explained up to 54.6% of the trait variation for midline peak time, with favorable allele derived from TAM 112. Novel QTL for hardness, flour yield and flour ash content were also identified on the chromosomes 1A and 2A, 6B and 7D, respectively. This study confirmed previously identified loci at major genes, some newly identified QTL on chromosomes and the favorable alleles for improving end-use quality.