Dataset Information

Multiple major QTL lead to stable yield performance of rice cultivars across varying drought intensities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Availability of irrigation water is becoming a major limiting factor in rice cultivation. Production in rainfed areas is affected in particular by drought events, as these areas are commonly planted to high-yielding drought-susceptible rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties. The use of bulk segregant analysis (BSA), taking grain yield (GY) as a selection criterion, has resulted in the identification of several large-effect QTL. A QTL mapping study was undertaken on a BC1F3:4 population developed from the cross IR55419-04/2*TDK1 with the aim of identifying large-effect QTL in the background of TDK1, a popular variety from Lao PDR.

Results

The study identified three QTL-qDTY3.1 (RM168-RM468), qDTY6.1 (RM586-RM217), and qDTY6.2 (RM121-RM541)-for grain yield under drought. qDTY3.1 and qDTY6.1, showed consistent effect across seasons under lowland drought-stress conditions while qDTY6.1 and qDTY6.2 showed effect under both upland and lowland drought conditions. The test of QTL effect, conducted through a QTL class analysis, showed the complimentary nature of qDTY3.1 and qDTY6.1. Both QTL showed specific patterns of effect across different maturity groups within the mapping population and higher stability for grain yield was seen across stress levels for lines with both QTLs as compared to those with single or no QTL.

Conclusions

The study offers a clear understanding of large-effect QTL for grain yield under drought and their effect as individual QTL and in various combinations. The study also opens up an opportunity to develop a drought-tolerant version of TDK1 through marker-assisted backcross breeding and has led to a large-scale QTL pyramiding program aiming to combine these QTL with Sub1 in the background of TDK1 as recipient variety.

SUBMITTER: Dixit S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3933981 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundDrought is one of the most important abiotic stresses that cause drastic reduction in rice grain yield (GY) in rainfed environments. The identification and introgression of QTL leading to high GY under drought have been advocated to be the preferred breeding strategy to improve drought tolerance of popular rice varieties. Genetic control of GY under reproductive-stage drought stress (RS) was studied in two BC1F4 mapping populations derived from crosses of Kali Aus, a drought-tolerant aus cultivar, with high-yielding popular varieties MTU1010 and IR64. The aim was to identify QTL for GY under RS that show a large and consistent effect for the trait. Bulk segregant analysis (BSA) was used to identify significant markers putatively linked with high GY under drought.ResultsQTL analysis revealed major-effect GY QTL: qDTY1.2, qDTY2.2 and qDTY1.3, qDTY2.3 (DTY; Drought grain yield) under drought consistently over two seasons in Kali Aus/2*MTU1010 and Kali Aus/2*IR64 populations, respectively. qDTY1.2 and qDTY2.2 explained an additive effect of 288 kg ha-1 and 567 kg ha-1 in Kali Aus/2*MTU1010, whereas qDTY1.3 and qDTY2.3 explained an additive effect of 198 kg ha-1 and 147 kg ha-1 in Kali Aus/2*IR64 populations, respectively.Epistatic interaction was observed for DTF (days to flowering) between regions on chromosome 2 flanked by markers RM154-RM324 and RM263-RM573 and major epistatic QTL for GY showing interaction between genomic locations on chromosome 1 at marker interval RM488-RM315 and chromosome 2 at RM324-RM263 in 2012 DS and 2013 DS RS in Kali Aus/2*IR64 mapping populations.ConclusionThe QTL, qDTY1.2, qDTY1.3, qDTY2.2, and qDTY2.3, identified in this study can be used to improve GY of mega varieties MTU1010 and IR64 under different degrees of severity of drought stress through marker-aided backcrossing and provide farmers with improved varieties that effectively combine high yield potential with good yield under drought. The observed epistatic interaction for GY and DTF will contribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of agronomically important traits and enhance predictive ability at an individualized level in agriculture.

Project description:BackgroundRice (Oryza sativa L.) is a highly drought sensitive crop, and most semi dwarf rice varieties suffer severe yield losses from reproductive stage drought stress. The genetic complexity of drought tolerance has deterred the identification of agronomically relevant quantitative trait loci (QTL) that can be deployed to improve rice yield under drought in rice. Convergent evidence from physiological characterization, genetic mapping, and multi-location field evaluation was used to address this challenge.Methodology/principal findingsTwo pairs of backcross inbred lines (BILs) from a cross between drought-tolerant donor Aday Sel and high-yielding but drought-susceptible rice variety IR64 were produced. From six BC4F3 mapping populations produced by crossing the +QTL BILs with the -QTL BILs and IR64, four major-effect QTL--one each on chromosomes 2, 4, 9, and 10--were identified. Meta-analysis of transcriptome data from the +QTL/-QTL BILs identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) significantly associated with QTL on chromosomes 2, 4, 9, and 10. Physiological characterization of BILs showed increased water uptake ability under drought. The enrichment of DEGs associated with root traits points to differential regulation of root development and function as contributing to drought tolerance in these BILs. BC4F3-derived lines with the QTL conferred yield advantages of 528 to 1875 kg ha⁻¹ over IR64 under reproductive-stage drought stress in the targeted ecosystems of South Asia.Conclusions/significanceGiven the importance of rice in daily food consumption and the popularity of IR64, the BC4F3 lines with multiple QTL could provide higher livelihood security to farmers in drought-prone environments. Candidate genes were shortlisted for further characterization to confirm their role in drought tolerance. Differential yield advantages of different combinations of the four QTL reported here indicate that future research should include optimizing QTL combinations in different genetic backgrounds to maximize yield advantage under drought.