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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #110353
Title: ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN GRAIN MORPHOLOGY AND GRAIN QUALITY TRAITS IN HEXAPLOIDOAT REVEALED BY QTL ANALYSIS

Author
item GROH, SUSANNE - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item KIANIAN, SHAHRYAR - NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item PHILLIPS, RONALD - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Rines, Howard
item STUTHMAN, DEON - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Wesenberg, Darrell
item FULCHER, R - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Submitted to: Journal of Theoretical and Applied Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/27/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The value of cereal grains as feed for livestock or processing for food depends on the percentages of the desired components present in the grain and their recoverability in processing. The genetic control and inheritance of these components is usually complex and often the components influence one another. Thus, it has been difficult for plant breeders to readily breed for optimal levels of combinations of grain components in cereals like oat. We used techniques involving analysis of variations in specific segments of the oats' genetic material, or DNA, data from multiple growth environments, and special statistical methods to identify regions in the oat DNA that influence various aspects of grain size, shape, and hull percentage. The genetic regions identified for these components were then compared to ones identified earlier for oat grain nutritional components, oil and soluble fiber. A knowledge of how these various grain structural and nutritional components interrelate and possible common genetic control of them will help oat breeders develop strategies to optimize the levels of each in breeding new oat varieties. Such varieties will have increased value to farmers, oat processors, and consumers.

Technical Abstract: Milling yield, an important quality characteristic of cultivated oat (Avena sativa L.), is affected by kernel morphology, groat (dehulled kernel) to hull ratio (groat percentage), and ratio of primary and secondary to tertiary kernels. The importance of those traits defining milling yield and their association to chemical grain composition such as oil and beta-glucan nconcentration is not fully understood. Identification and characterization of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and comparison of QTLs across groat characteristics may help to understand associations between kernel morphology and groat quality. We mapped QTLs for kernel area, kernel length, kernel width, and groat percentage across environments in two populations of recombinant inbred lines by RFLP and AFLP analysis. Phenotypic correlations between kernel morphology, groat percentage, and oil and beta-glucan concentrations were not significant. For kernel morphology and groat percentage, one to six QTLs were detected, explaining 7 to 58% of the total phenotypic variance. Some QTLs were identified consistently in both populations, but comparisons between populations for QTLs for single traits provided limited information due to the small number of QTLs. By comparing QTLs for multiple traits affecting the morphology and chemical composition of the oat grain across both populations, several regions of the oat genome were identified which contain clusters of linked QTLs or QTLs with pleiotropic effects on physical and chemical groat characteristics. Associations among traits were complex and will require careful consideration when employing QTL-marker associations in marker- assisted selection to avoid negative selection response.