The effects of major genes on quantitatively varying characters in barley. 4. The GPert and denso loci and quality characters

Abstract

Random inbred lines derived by doubled haploidy and single seed descent were used to demonstrate that the GPert dwarfing gene, as found in cv. Golden Promise, was associated with low thousand corn weight, main-stem, single plant and plot yield and hot water extract, and high milling energy and levels of screenings. Similarly, the denso dwarfing gene was shown to be associated with late heading, low thousand corn weight, main-stem and single plant yield and high levels of β-glucan and screenings. The associations of the GPert locus with main-stem, single plant and plot yield milling energy and screenings, and of the denso locus with main-stem and single plant yield, were shown to be a result of their association with thousand corn weight. The association of the GPert locus with hot water extract was most likley to be due to linkage, and genes controlling the character may be located on barley chromosome 7. The denso gene may also be linked to genes that control heading date, height, screenings and β-glucan but the chromosomal location of the denso gene is unknown. Amongst lines that possess the GPert gene, correlations between characters were such that the probability of producing a line to combine a high level of plot yield and hot water extract with the dwarfing gene was low.