QTL Analysis and Effect of the fin Locus on Tropical Adaptation in an Inter-Gene Pool Common Bean Population

Abstract

Common bean architecture is in part determined by the determinacy gene fin which can affect yield potential and adaptation to various environments and has many known effects in temperate regions. Tropical adaptation, meanwhile, requires adaptation to rainy and dry seasons where heat and drought stress are major problems. The goal of this research was to determine the effect of the fin gene on plants grown under heat, drought and non-stress conditions in the tropics and to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for architectural, phenological and yield traits related to fin in an inter-genepool population derived from a cross between an indeterminate Mesoamerican genotype with erect architecture (A55) and a determinate Andean genotype with heat tolerance (G122). The population was evaluated in four experiments conducted in a tropical location across two rainy seasons and across dry season drought stress and dry season irrigated treatments. A total of 71 SSR loci and 245 AFLP, RAPD, seed protein or phenotypic markers were integrated together into a genetic map with a total distance of 982.8 cM. A total of 36 QTL were identified based on the evaluation of six phenotypic variables differentiating the parents. The A55 parent was high yielding under all conditions; while G122 was confirmed to be resistant to high temperatures, but not to drought. Some QTL for yield were associated with erect growth alleles inherited from the indeterminate parent and were located on linkage group b01 near the fin locus while other QTL for seed weight were found across the genome.