QTL-seq reveals genomic regions associated with spikelet fertility in response to a high temperature in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

• Published in: Plant cell reports Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 149 - 162
• Main Authors: Nubankoh, Phakchana, Wanchana, Samart, Saensuk, Chatree, Ruanjaichon, Vinitchan, Cheabu, Sulaiman, Vanavichit, Apichart, Toojinda, Theerayut, Malumpong, Chanate, Arikit, Siwaret
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air temperature; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developmental stages; DNA; Fertility; Fertility - genetics; Flowers - genetics; Flowers - growth & development; Gene mapping; Genes; Genomics; Heat; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; High temperature; Hot Temperature - adverse effects; Life Sciences; Mapping; Original Article; Oryza - genetics; Oryza sativa; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Plant Biochemistry; Plant breeding; Plant Sciences; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Quantitative Trait Loci; Rice; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Stress, Physiological; Temperature; Temperature effects; Thermotolerance - genetics; Whole Genome Sequencing; Heat tolerance; Bulk-segregant analysis; Rice; QTL-seq
• ISSN: 0721-7714; 1432-203X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02477-z

Key message The QTL-seq approach was used to identify QTLs for spikelet fertility under heat stress in rice. QTLs were detected on chromosomes 1, 2 and 3. Rice is a staple food of more than half of the global population. Rice production is increasingly affected by extreme environmental fluctuations caused by climate change. Increasing temperatures that exceed the optimum temperature adversely affect rice growth and development, especially during reproductive stages. Heat stress during the reproductive stages has a large effect on spikelet fertility; hence, the yield decreases. To sustain rice yields under increasing temperatures, the development of rice varieties for heat tolerance is necessary. In this study, we applied the QTL-seq approach to rapidly identify QTLs for spikelet fertility under heat stress (air temperature of 40–45 °C) based on two DNA pools, each consisting of 25 individual plants that exhibited a heat-tolerant or heat-sensitive phenotype from an F 2 population of a cross between M9962 (heat tolerant) and Sinlek (heat sensitive). Three QTLs, qSF1 , qSF2 and qSF3 , were detected on chromosomes 1, 2 and 3, respectively, according to the highest contrasting SNP index between the two bulks. The QTLs identified in this study were found to overlap or were linked to QTLs previously identified in other crosses using conventional QTL mapping. A few highly abundant and anther-specific genes that contain nonsynonymous variants were identified within the QTLs and were proposed to be potential candidate genes. These genes could be targets in rice breeding programs for heat tolerance.