Biomass yield is one of the most important agronomic traits in forage crops, and increasing biomass yield is the most important
objective of breeding programmes. In a precursor study, a genetic map of Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass) was constructed based on an inbred-derived F2 population using AFLP and SSR markers. The aim was to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for biomass heterosis in the F2 population. Dry weight biomass QTL were identified on linkage groups (LGs) 2, 3 and 7. This work focuses on the fine mapping
of the QTL positions by mapping additional ryegrass SSR markers and rice-sequence derived STS markers. The STS markers will
be used to reveal fine synteny for LGs 2, 3 and 7 between ryegrass and rice. The QTL positions were recalculated for dry weight
data collected in the field and the greenhouse over two years. In accordance with the preliminary analysis, biomass QTL were
localized on LGs 2, 3 and 7 with a LOD score value between 3.6 and 14.1 and an explained variance from 3.8% to 22.5%. The
addition of markers permitted a reduction in the length of QTL intervals. The combination of the experimental approach of
fine-mapping QTL positions and exploiting synteny relationships to rice will benefit marker assisted selection and the future
identification of biomass-related genes.
Keywords
Lolium perenne
- Mapping - Quantitative trait loci - Biomass - Forage grass - Rice