Abstract
As an important physiological and reproductive organ, the silique is a determining factor of seed yield and a breeding target trait in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Genetic studies of silique-related traits are helpful for rapeseed marker-assisted high-yield breeding. In this study, a recombinant inbred population containing 189 lines was used to perform a quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis for five silique-related traits in seven different environments. As a result, 120 consensus QTLs related to five silique-related traits were identified, including 23 for silique length, 25 for silique breadth, 29 for silique thickness, 22 for seed number per silique and 21 for silique volume, which covered all the chromosomes, except C5. Among them, 13 consensus QTLs, one, five, two, four and one for silique length, silique breadth, silique thickness, seed number per silique and silique volume, respectively, were repeatedly detected in multiple environments and explained 4.38–13.0% of the phenotypic variation. On the basis of the functional annotations of Arabidopsis homologous genes and previously reported silique-related genes, 12 potential candidate genes underlying these 13 QTLs were screened and found to be stable in multiple environments by analyzing the re-sequencing results of the two parental lines. These findings provide new insights into the gene networks affecting silique-related traits at the QTL level in rapeseed.
Highlights
Rapeseed (Brassica napus, AACC, 2n = 38), a major oil crops worldwide, evolved from the double diploidization of Brassica rapa (AA, 2n = 20) and Brassica oleracea (CC, 2n = 18) through interspecific hybridization (Murphy, 1999)
Rapeseed yield is determined by three constituent factors: seed weight, silique number and seed number per silique (SPS) (Clarke and Simpson, 1978)
Most agricultural production-related traits are quantitative traits controlled by multiple genes that are sensitive to the environmental conditions (Abe et al, 2012)
Summary
Silique-related traits, such as silique length (SL), silique breadth (SB), silique thickness (ST) and silique volume (SV), affect the appearance and morphology of silique, and affect the production and yield of photosynthetic substances (Ferrándiz et al, 1999). Siliques and their related traits are considered the major contributing factors for increasing rapeseed yield. Understanding their genetic bases is of great significance for breeding high-yield rapeseed
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