Abstract

Grain shape is usually characterized by grain length (GL), grain width (GW), grain thickness (GT) and length to width ratio (LWR), and controlled by quantitative trait locus (QTL). In this paper, QTL analysis was performed using an F₂ population and an F₈ recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from a cross Xiang743/Katy. A total of 38 QTLs for grain shape were detected and eight of them were repeatedly identified in both populations. Seven for GL, five for GW, five for GT, and eight for LWR were detected in F₂ population, explaining totally phenotypic variance of 94.51%, 61.52%, 54.33% and 91.84%, respectively. Five for GL, three for GW, and five for LWR were detected in RILpopulation, explaining totally phenotypic variance of 39.83%, 37.52% and 36.71%, respectively. Many QTLs were located in similar intervals, contributing to complicated trait correlation. A few QTLs were mapped in intervals coincided with previously cloned genes associated with grain size. Two residual heterozygous lines (RHLs) were selected out on the basis of newly identified loci, populations derived from RHLs were constructed for fine mapping QTLs associated with grain shape.

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