Meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis for drought tolerance was undertaken in bread wheat to identify consensus and robust MQTLs using 340 known QTLs from 11 earlier studies; 13 MQTLs located on 6 chromosomes (1D, 3B, 5A, 6D, 7A and 7D) were identified, with maximum of 4 MQTLs on chromosome 5A. Mean confidence intervals for MQTLs were much narrower (mean, 6.01 cM; range 2.07–19.46 cM), relative to those in original QTLs (mean, 13.6 cM; range, 1.0–119.1 cM). Two MQTLs, namely MQTL4 and MQTL12, were major MQTLs with potential for use in marker-assisting breeding. As many as 228 candidate genes (CGs) were also identified using 6 of the 13 MQTLs. In-silico expression analysis of these 228 CGs allowed identification of 14 important CGs, with + 3 to − 8 fold change in expression under drought (relative to normal conditions) in a tolerant cv. named TAM107. These CGs encoded proteins belonging to the following families: NAD-dependent epimerase/dehydratase, protein kinase, NAD(P)-binding domain protein, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), glycosyltransferase 2-like, etc. Important MQTLs and CGs identified in the present study should prove useful for future molecular breeding and for the study of molecular basis of drought tolerance in cereals in general and wheat in particular.

中文翻译：

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面包小麦（Triticum aestivum L.）耐旱候选基因的Meta-QTL分析和鉴定。

在面包小麦中进行了耐旱性的元 QTL (MQTL) 分析，以使用来自 11 项早期研究的 340 个已知 QTL 来鉴定一致和稳健的 MQTL；鉴定了位于6条染色体（1D、3B、5A、6D、7A和7D）上的13个MQTL，其中5A染色体上最多有4个MQTL。MQTL 的平均置信区间要窄得多（平均，6.01 cM；范围 2.07–19.46 cM），相对于原始 QTL（平均，13.6 cM；范围，1.0–119.1 cM）。两个 MQTL，即 MQTL4 和 MQTL12，是具有用于标记辅助育种潜力的主要 MQTL。还使用 13 个 MQTL 中的 6 个鉴定了多达 228 个候选基因 (CG)。这 228 个 CG 的计算机内表达分析允许鉴定 14 个重要的 CG，在干旱条件下（相对于正常条件）在耐受性 cv 中的表达发生了 + 3 到 - 8 倍的变化。命名为 TAM107。