Abstract
Changes in the rapeseed branch angle alter plant architecture, allowing more efficient light capture as planting density increases. In this study, a natural population of rapeseed was grown in three environments and evaluated for branch angle trait to characterize their phenotypic patterns and genotype with a 60K Brassica Infinium SNP array. Significant phenotypic variation was observed from 20 to 70°. As a result, 25 significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with branch angle were identified on chromosomes A2, A3, A7, C3, C5, and C7 by the MLM model in TASSEL 4.0. Orthologs of the functional candidate genes involved in branch angle were identified. Among the key QTL, the peak SNPs were close to the key orthologous genes BnaA.Lazy1 and BnaC.Lazy1 on A3 and C3 homologous genome blocks. With the exception of Lazy (LA) orthologous genes, SQUMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN LIKE 14 (SPL14) and an auxin-responsive GRETCHEN HAGEN 3 (GH3) genes from Arabidopsis thaliana were identified close to two clusters of SNPs on the A7 and C7 chromosomes. These findings on multiple novel loci and candidate genes of branch angle will be useful for further understanding and genetic improvement of plant architecture in rapeseed.
Highlights
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L. 2n = 4 × = 38, AACC genomes) is a widely cultivated oil crop throughout the world
The ideotype is determined by a combination of architecture factors including branch angle (BA), plant height (PH), first branch height (FBH), inflorescence length (IL), and branch number (BN; Mei et al, 2009; Shi et al, 2009; Xu et al, 2014)
According to the information from field observations, the accessions were classified to three different germplasm types, i.e., spring oilseed rape (OSR) (13), semiwinter OSR (124), and winter OSR (6)
Summary
Yield improvement and mechanized harvesting are extremely urgent recently for the demands of rapeseed producers in addition to the edible oil and biofuel industries (Diepenbrock, 2000). The ideotype of a plant is defined as the spatial distribution of various architectures which is an important agronomic character that affects photosynthesis and seed yields (Donald, 1968; Mansfield and Mumm, 2014). The ideotype can influence photosynthesis, plant growth, and seed yield due to the least competition among the individuals in a population (Wang and Li, 2005). The ideotype is determined by a combination of architecture factors including branch angle (BA), plant height (PH), first branch height (FBH), inflorescence length (IL), and branch number (BN; Mei et al, 2009; Shi et al, 2009; Xu et al, 2014). Branch angle, or the angle between branch and erect primary stem, has long attracted the attention of breeders because of the significant contribution of this trait to plant architecture
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