Genetic analysis of seed size, yield and days to flowering in a chickpea recombinant inbred line population derived from a Kabuli × Desi cross

Abstract

Quantitative traits, seed size, yield and days to flowering were studied in a chickpea intraspecific recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (F 6:7 ) derived from a Kabuli  Desi cross. The population was evaluated in two locations over 2 years. Days to flowering was also evaluated in the greenhouse under shortday conditions. Seed size was the most heritable trait (0.90), followed by days to flowering (0.36) and yield (0.14). Negative and significant correlation was found between yield and seed size in the second year where environmental homogeneity was tested by analysing the controls included in each assay. During the first year, the environment was not considered homogeneous for yield in either location. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the three characters were detected in linkage group (LG) 4. In relation to seed size, two QTLs were located in LG4 (QTL SW1 ) and LG8 (QTL SW2 ). QTL SW1 accounted 20.3% of the total phenotypic variation and QTL SW2 explained 10.1%. A QTL for yield (QTL YD ) was located in LG4 explaining around 13% of variation. QTL YD might be pleiotropic with QTL SW1 . For days to flowering, a QTL (QTL DF1 ) was located in LG4 for all environments analysed explaining around 20% of variation. QTL DF1 was closely linked to QTL SW1 and QTL YD in LG4.Genetics of seed size, yield and flowering in chickpea M.J. Cobos et al.

Mapping of QTLs governing agronomic and yield traits in chickpea

“…The broad-sense heritability estimates for the seven traits ranged from 36% (Psp) to 84% (Swt). These values agree with those reported earlier in chickpea (Eser 1976;Muehlbauer and Singh 1987;Singh 1991;Abbo et al 2005;Cobos et al 2007). Eser (1976) observed 13% narrow-sense heritability for single plant yield, 25% for number of pods per plant, 30% for plant height and 78% for seed weight in chickpea.…”

“…plant height, plant spread, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, yield, seed weight and days to maturity (this study); seed number per plant, 100-seed weight, days to 50% flowering (Cho et al 2002); blight resistance (Tekeoglu et al 2002;Cho et al 2004;Lichtenzveig et al 2006); seed weight and lutein concentration (Abbo et al 2005) and seed size, yield and days to 50% flowering (Cobos et al 2007). Hence, concentrating on these LGs in molecular breeding programs might bring in simultaneous improvement in many of these traits.…”

“…seed yield, plant height, number of pods per plant, days to flowering, days to maturity and 100-seed weight to range from 49% to 91%. Abbo et al (2005) and Cobos et al (2007) also reported high heritability values for seed weight (71%) and seed size (90%) respectively. In the present study, we also observed high heritability (84%) for seed weight, followed by plant height (77%).…”

“…Hence, either or both of these QTLs might correspond to the "Seed weight QTL 1" of Abbo et al (2005). Similarly, Cobos et al (2007) identified three tightly linked QTLs for seed size, yield and days to flowering on LG-IV. In both of our populations, these QTLs were not polymorphic and hence could not be detected, although on the same linkage group (LG1a of VI map, corresponding to LG-IV of Winter et al 2000), we identified eight Swt QTLs, three Yld QTLs and two Dmt QTLs.…”

“…This QTL was also pleiotropic with a QTL for number of seeds per plant. Later, Abbo et al (2005) also reported three QTLs and Cobos et al (2007) two QTLs for seed weight. The Swt QTLs identified in the present study Table 6 QTLs interactions involving (Q × Q or Q × Q × E) for agronomic and yield traits in chickpea detected in JV and VI populations by following two-locus analysis were also associated with QTLs for the traits Pht, Brp and Yld.…”