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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370056
Research Project: Trait Discovery, Genetics, and Enhancement of Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus Germplasm

Location: Vegetable Crops Research

Title: Genetic mapping of chartreuse bulb color in onion

Author
item Havey, Michael

Submitted to: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/6/2019
Publication Date: 1/21/2020
Citation: Havey, M.J. 2020. Genetic mapping of chartreuse bulb color in onion. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 145(2):110-119. https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS04861-20.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS04861-20

Interpretive Summary: The most common bulb colors of onion are red, yellow, and white; chartreuse is relatively rare bulb color conditioned by the homozygous recessive genotype at the G locus. In this research, plants with chartreuse bulbs were crossed with onions with yellow bulbs to develop segregating families for genetic mapping of the G locus. For all of 17 F2 families, segregations for yellow versus chartreuse bulbs fit the expected 3:1 ratio (P > 0.05). DNAs were isolated from one F2 family and genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to produce a genetic map of the G locus and 380 SNPs. Segregations for yellow versus chartreuse bulbs placed the G locus at the end of chromosome 7 at 6.7 cM from the nearest SNP (isotig28625_2789). The SNP marker linked to the G locus will be of interest to onion breeders interested in introducing chartreuse bulb color into diverse onion populations for commercial production of this uniquely colored onion.

Technical Abstract: The most common bulb colors of onion (Allium cepa) are red, yellow, and white; chartreuse is relatively rare bulb color conditioned by the homozygous recessive genotype at the G locus. In this research, plants with chartreuse bulbs were crossed with inbreds with yellow bulbs to develop segregating families for genetic mapping of the G locus. For all of 17 F2 families, segregations for yellow versus chartreuse bulbs fit the expected 3:1 ratio (P > 0.05). DNAs were isolated from one F2 family and genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to produce a genetic map of the G locus and 380 SNPs. Segregations for yellow versus chartreuse bulbs placed the G locus at the end of chromosome 7 at 6.7 cM from the nearest SNP (isotig28625_2789). This codominant SNP marker linked to the G locus should be useful for introgression of recessive chartreuse bulb color into diverse onion populations for commercial production of this uniquely colored onion.