Abstract
Pearl millet marker-assisted selection (MAS)
programs targeting adaptation to variable post-flowering moisture environments would benefit from quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that improve grain yield across the full range of post-flowering moisture conditions, rather than just in drought-stressed environments. This research
was undertaken to identify such QTLs from an
extensive (12-environment) phenotyping data
set that included both stressed and unstressed post-flowering environments. Genetic materials were test crosses of 79 F2–derived F4 progenies from a mapping population based on a widely
adapted maintainer line (ICMB 841) × a post-flowering drought-tolerant maintainer (863B). Three QTLs (on linkage group [LG] 2, LG 3, and LG 4) were identifi ed as primary candidates for MAS
for improved grain yield across variable post-flowering moisture environments. The QTLs on LG 2 and LG 3 (the most promising) explained a useful proportion (13–25%) of phenotypic variance
for grain yield across environments. They
also co-mapped with QTLs for harvest index
across environments, and with QTLs for both
grain number and individual grain mass under
severe terminal stress. Neither had a significant QTL × environment interaction, indicating
that their predicted effects should occur across
a broad range of available moisture environments.
We have estimated the benefits in grain
yield and accompanying changes in yield components
and partitioning indices that would
be expected as a result of incorporating these
QTLs into other genetic backgrounds by MAS.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 969-980 |
Journal | Crop Science |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2007 |