Abstract
The quantitatively inherited trait plant height is routinely evaluated in triticale breeding programs as it substantially influences lodging and disease susceptibility, is a main contributor to biomass yield, and is required to improve hybrid seed production by fine-tuning plant height in the female and male parental pools in hybrid breeding programs. In this study, we evaluated a panel of 846 diverse Central European triticale genotypes to dissect the genetic architecture underlying plant height by genome-wide association mapping. This revealed three medium- to large-effect QTL on chromosomes 5A, 4B, and 5R. Genetic and physical fine-mapping of the putative QTL revealed that the QTL on chromosome 5R most likely corresponds to Ddw1 and that the QTL on chromosome 5A is likely to be Rht12. Furthermore, we observed a temporal trend in registered cultivars with a decreasing plant height during the past decades, accompanied by an increasing use of the height-reducing alleles at the identified QTL. In summary, our results shed new light on the genetic control of plant height in triticale and open new avenues for future improvement by breeding.
Highlights
Hexaploid triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) is a man-made cereal that combines the genomes of tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) and diploid rye (Secale cereal L.) [1]
Taller genotypes are associated with a reduced Fusarium head blight susceptibility [12,13,14] and generally show an increased biomass yield, for which plant height is an important component of biomass yield [15,16,17]
All genotypes were evaluated in multi-location field trials for plant height and in addition for their developmental stage (BBCH scale) at a time point when the majority of the lines were heading, as this trait is often associated with plant height
Summary
Hexaploid triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) is a man-made cereal that combines the genomes of tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) and diploid rye (Secale cereal L.) [1]. Tall plants usually are more susceptible to lodging resulting in substantial grain yield losses, reduced quality, and high drying costs during the harvesting process [9,10,11]. They have a less favorable harvest index and the tendency was to breed for shorter types. Hybrid breeding has shown potential in triticale, which requires the control of the plant height of the male and female parental components, as the male lines should be taller compared to their female mating partners in order to increase the efficiency of hybrid seed production [19]. Adjustment of plant height is required in triticale breeding programs, but the direction depends on the breeding goals
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