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Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an economic crop and a model organism for studies of plant biology and genetics. As an allotetraploid plant generated from interspecific hybridization, tobacco has a massive genome (4.5 Gb). Recently, a genetic map with 45,081 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers was constructed using whole-genome sequencing data for a tobacco population including 274 individuals. This provides a basis for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and genomic selection, which have been widely applied to other crops but have not been feasible in tobacco. Based on this high-density genetic map, we identified QTLs associated with important agronomic traits, chemical compounds in dry leaves, and hazardous substances in processed cigarettes. The LOD values for major QTLs were highest for agronomic traits, followed by chemical compounds and hazardous substances. In addition to the identification of molecular markers, we evaluated genomic selection models and found that BayesB had the highest prediction accuracy for the recombinant inbred line population. Our results offer new insights into the genetic mechanism underlying important traits, such as agronomic traits and quality-related chemical compounds in tobacco, and will be able to support the application of molecular breeding to tobacco.

Backcrossing is a powerful tool for plant breeding. The improved marker-assisted backcrossing intends to transfer targeted genes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of interest from a donor parent into a recurrent parent. In this study, a tobacco BC4F3 population was generated using Y3 and K326 as hybrid parents and YF1-1 as F1 parents. High-throughput sequencing data of 381 pedigree populations were used to construct high-density genetic maps containing 24 142 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers with an average genetic distance of 0.59 cM. A genome module analysis was then performed for all the offspring. A total of forty-three candidate QTLs for six agronomics traits were identified. This study provides original biomarkers for tobacco breeding and offers clues for prospective backcrossing applications in other plants.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an essential commercial crop and an ideal model plant for biological mechanism studies. As an allopolyploid species, tobacco harbors a massive and complex genome, which makes the application of molecular markers complicated and challenging. In our study, we performed whole-genome sequencing of an intraspecific recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, a F1 generation and their parents. With the Nicotiana tabacum (K326 cultivar) genome as reference, a total of 45,081 markers were characterized to construct the genetic map, which spanned a genetic distance of 3486.78 cM. Evaluation of a two-dimensional heat map proved the high quality of the genetic map. We utilized these markers to anchor scaffolds and analyzed the ancestral genome origin of linkage groups (LGs). Furthermore, such a high-density genetic map will be applied for quantitative trait locus (QTL) detection, gene localization, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and marker-assisted breeding in tobacco.

Background Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an important model system, which has been widely used in plant physiological studies and it is particularly useful as a bioreactor. Despite its importance, only limited molecular marker resources are available for genome analysis, genetic mapping and breeding. Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) is a powerful new method for targeted sequencing across the genomes of many individuals. This approach has broad potential for genetic analysis through linkage mapping. Results We constructed a RAD library using genomic DNA from a BC1 backcross population. Sequencing of 196 individuals was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. Two linkage maps were constructed, one with a reference genome and another, termed as de novo identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) by RAD-seq, without a reference genome. Overall, 4138 and 2162 SNP markers with a total length of 1944.74 and 2000.9 cM were mapped to 24 linkage groups in the genetic maps based on reference genome and without reference, respectively. Conclusions Using two different SNP discovery methods based on next generation RAD sequencing technology, we have respectively mapped 2162 and 4318 SNPs in our backcross population. This study gives an excellent example for high density linkage map construction, irrespective of genome sequence availability, and provides saturated information for downstream genetic investigations such as quantitative trait locus analyses or genomic selection (e.g. bioreactor suitable cultivars). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40709-015-0034-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.