Discovery of Genomic Regions and Candidate Genes for Awn Length Using QTL-seq in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

• Published in: Plant breeding and biotechnology Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 271 - 277
• Main Authors: Dongryung Lee, Hongjia Zhang, Yuting Zeng, Backki Kim, Soon-wook Kwon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 한국육종학회 31.12.2023; The Korean Breeding Society
• Subjects: Awn length; Bulk segregant analysis (BSA); QTL-seq; Rice; Awn length; Bulk segregant analysis (BSA); Rice; QTL-seq
• ISSN: 2287-9358

Rice domestication has led to cultivated rice with no or short awns. Discovery of novel genes associated to awn length is of paramount importance for understanding the molecular mechanisms for the transformation of wild rice long awns to awnless cultivated rice. In this study, we employed Next-Generation Sequencing based QTL-seq approach to identify genomic regions associated with awn length using mapping population derived from a cross between awnless Tun Sart and awned Sobaekmangsudo. QTL-seq analysis identified two awn length QTLs viz. qAwn-4 (12.8-20.3 Mb) and qAwn-8 (22.3-27.2 Mb) on chromosome 4 and 8, respectively. Based on the sequence comparison between the two parents, Os04g0350700 (bHLH transcription factor) was postulated to be the candidate of Awn-4 gene. Further discovery of the novel genes in qAwn-8 interval will provide insights into the genetic architecture of awn length.