Genetic analysis of grain yield conditioned on its component traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Grain yield (GY) of rice is a complex trait consisting of several yield components. It is of great importance to reveal the genetic relationships between GY and its yield components at the QTL (quantitative trait loci) level for multi-trait improvement in rice. In the present study, GY per plant in rice and its 3 yield component traits, panicle number per plant (PN), grain number per panicle (GN), and 1000-grain weight (GW), were investigated using a doubled-haploid population derived from a cross of an indica variety IR64 and a japonica variety Azucena. The phenotypic values collected from 2 cropping seasons were analysed by QTLNetwork 2.0 for mapping QTLs with additive (a) and/or additive x environment interaction (ae) effects. Furthermore, conditional QTL analysis was conducted to detect QTLs for GY independent of yield components. The results showed that the general genetic variation in GY was largely influenced by GN with the contribution ratio of 29.2%, and PN and GN contributed 10.5% and 74.6% of the genotype x environment interaction variation in GY, respectively. Four QTLs were detected with additive and/or additive x environment interaction effects for GY by the unconditional mapping method. However, for GY conditioned on PN, GN, and GW, 6 additional loci were identified by the conditional mapping method. All of the detected QTLs affecting GY were associated with at least one of the 3 yield components. The results revealed that QTL expressions of GY were contributed differently by 3 yield component traits, and provide valuable information for effectively improving GY in rice.