Abstract
The genetic improvement of durum wheat and enhancement of plant performance often depend on the identification of stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) and closely linked molecular markers. This is essential for better understanding the genetic basis of important agronomic traits and identifying an effective method for improving selection efficiency in breeding programmes. Meta-QTL analysis is a useful approach for dissecting the genetic basis of complex traits, providing broader allelic coverage and higher mapping resolution for the identification of putative molecular markers to be used in marker-assisted selection. In the present study, extensive QTL meta-analysis was conducted on 45 traits of durum wheat, including quality and biotic and abiotic stress-related traits. A total of 368 QTL distributed on all 14 chromosomes of genomes A and B were projected: 171 corresponded to quality-related traits, 127 to abiotic stress and 71 to biotic stress, of which 318 were grouped in 85 meta-QTL (MQTL), 24 remained as single QTL and 26 were not assigned to any MQTL. The number of MQTL per chromosome ranged from 4 in chromosomes 1A and 6A to 9 in chromosome 7B; chromosomes 3A and 7A showed the highest number of individual QTL (4), and chromosome 7B the highest number of undefined QTL (4). The recently published genome sequence of durum wheat was used to search for candidate genes within the MQTL peaks. This work will facilitate cloning and pyramiding of QTL to develop new cultivars with specific quantitative traits and speed up breeding programs.
Highlights
The genetic improvement of durum wheat and enhancement of plant performance often depend on the identification of stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) and closely linked molecular markers
A total of 368 QTL distributed on all 14 chromosomes were projected: 171 corresponded to quality-related traits; 127 to abiotic stress, and 71 to biotic stress
We report a total of 368 QTL distributed on all 14 chromosomes, of which 171 are related to quality traits, 127 to abiotic stress, and 71 to biotic stress, over a total of 34 mapping population
Summary
The genetic improvement of durum wheat and enhancement of plant performance often depend on the identification of stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) and closely linked molecular markers. This is essential for better understanding the genetic basis of important agronomic traits and identifying an effective method for improving selection efficiency in breeding programmes. Often associated with high temperatures during the grain filling period, severely affects durum wheat quality and y ield[2,3] At this stage of the crop cycle,lack of water and high temperaturesreduce photosynthesis and the source-to-sink transportation of photosynthates in the caryopsis, thereby affecting the formation of the seed proteome. An example is the colour of semolina: consumers generally appreciatea yellow pigmentation, which alsoindicates a high level of carotenoid
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