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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359763
Title: Genetic mapping of leaf-related traits in autotetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Author
item HE, FEI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item KANG, JUNMEI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, FAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LONG, RUICAI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Yu, Long-Xi
item WANG, ZHEN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHAO, ZHONGXIANGI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, TIEJUN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item YANG, QINGCHUAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Molecular Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2019
Publication Date: 11/9/2019
Citation: He, F., Kang, J., Zhang, F., Long, R., Yu, L., Wang, Z., Zhao, Z., Zhang, T., Yang, Q. 2019. Genetic mapping of leaf-related traits in autotetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Molecular Breeding. 39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-019-1046-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-019-1046-8

Interpretive Summary: During plant development, leaves play an essential role in photosynthesis and transpiration. Therefore, studying the genetic mechanism determining leaf size will aid efforts to improve plant structure. However, for alfalfa, the genetic mechanisms controlling these plant structural traits are still unknown. In the present study, we evaluated leaf size of 152 individuals in alfalfa biparental population and identified genetic markers or loci associated with leaf size. The markers can be used for genetic improvement of plant architecture and increase yield potential in alfalfa.

Technical Abstract: The goal of this study is to investigate the genetic architecture of clover leaf-related traits. A low-yielding precocious alfalfa line (male parent) and a high-yielding late-maturing alfalfa line (female parent) were used to build a hybrid F1 population of 152 individuals. The parents and F1 plants were genotyped using simple sequence repeat and single nucleotide polymorphism markers, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for leaf length, leaf width and leaf area were mapped using data collected over three years. The additive effects of the QTLs were also compared. We identified a total of 60 QTLs associated with leaf size. These QTLs were located on chromosomes 1 to 8, and the percent phenotypic variation explained ranged between 2.97% and 18.78%. There were 13 significant QTLs with a high genetic contribution rate, most of which represent novel loci controlling leaf traits that have not been found in previous studies. These alfalfa QTL markers may be useful for breeding alfalfa varieties with high yield and for marker-assisted selection of leaf size.