Abstract
Roses are highly valuable within the flower industry. The metabolites of anthocyanins, flavonols, and carotenoids in rose petals are not only responsible for the various visible petal colors but also important bioactive compounds that are important for human health. In this study, we performed a QTL analysis on pigment contents to locate major loci that determine the flower color traits. An F1 population of tetraploid roses segregating for flower color was used to construct an ultra-high-density genetic linkage map using whole-genome resequencing technology to detect genome-wide SNPs. Previously developed SSR and SNP markers were also utilized to increase the marker density. Thus, a total of 9,259 markers were mapped onto seven linkage groups (LGs). The final length of the integrated map was 1285.11 cM, with an average distance of 0.14 cM between adjacent markers. The contents of anthocyanins, flavonols and carotenoids of the population were assayed to enable QTL analysis. Across the 33 components, 46 QTLs were detected, explaining 11.85–47.72% of the phenotypic variation. The mapped QTLs were physically clustered and primarily distributed on four linkage groups, namely LG2, LG4, LG6, and LG7. These results improve the basis for flower color marker-assisted breeding of tetraploid roses and guide the development of rose products.
Highlights
Roses are one of the most important ornamental plants worldwide, with a high value in various areas such as cut flowers, gardens and the food and medical industries
Anthocyanin Content Variation Four anthocyanin compounds were detected in the petals of F1 population: cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside (0.00–3403.36 μg/g fresh weight [FW]), pelargonidin 3,5-diglucoside (0.00–813.19 μg/g FW), pelargonidin 3-O-glucoside (0.00–312.69 μg/g FW), and cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (0.00–190.55 μg/g FW)
Further analysis of the frequency distribution showed that all the traits exhibited continuous variation in the mapping population (Figure 1), indicating these traits were quantitative traits controlled by polygenes and suitable for QTL analysis
Summary
Roses are one of the most important ornamental plants worldwide, with a high value in various areas such as cut flowers, gardens and the food and medical industries. Flower color is one of the most significant traits of ornamental plants, and it plays an important role in improving the aesthetic and economic values of roses. The appearance of flower color is largely affected by the various pigments synthesized by plants. The types of these pigments primarily include flavonoids, carotenoids and betalains, with flavonoids and carotenoids contributing the most to formation of flower color. Flavonols primarily turn plants to yellow, while anthocyanins can provide orange, red, pink and blue colors to plants (Tanaka et al, 2008). Carotenoids primarily determine the yellow and orange colors of flowers and are essential to human nutrition and health (Mayne, 1996)
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