Dissection of Genetic Basis Underpinning Kernel Weight-Related Traits in Common Wheat

Genetic dissection kernel weight-related traits is of great significance for improving wheat yield potential. As one of the three major yield components of wheat, thousand kernel weight (TKW) was mainly affected by grain length (GL) and grain width (GW). To uncover the key loci for these traits, we carried out a quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of an F6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population derived from a cross of Henong 5290 (small grain) and 06Dn23 (big grain) with a 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A total of 17 stable and big effect QTL, including 5 for TKW, 8 for GL and 4 for GW, were detected on the chromosomes 1B, 2A, 2B, 2D, 4B, 5A, 6A and 6D, respectively. Among these, there were two co-located loci for three traits that were mapped on the chromosome 4BS and 6AL. The QTL on 6AL was the most stable locus and explained 15.4–24.8%, 4.1–8.8% and 15.7–24.4% of TKW, GW and GL variance, respectively. In addition, two more major QTL of GL were located on chromosome arm 2BL and 2DL, accounting for 9.7–17.8% and 13.6–19.8% of phenotypic variance, respectively. In this study, we found one novel co-located QTL associated with GL and TKW in 2DL, QGl.haaf-2DL.2/QTkw.haaf-2DL.2, which could explain 13.6–19.8% and 9.8–10.7% phenotypic variance, respectively. Genetic regions and linked markers of these stable QTL will help to further refine mapping of the corresponding loci and marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding for wheat grain yield potential improvement.