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Quantitative trait loci analysis of nitrate-nitrogen content in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.)

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Abstract

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is widely cultivated in temperate regions owing to its excellent producibility and digestibility. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth; however, the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to excessive accumulation of nitrate-nitrogen in Italian ryegrass, which can prove to be lethal for ruminants. To study the genetic control of the nitrate-nitrogen content in Italian ryegrass, an Italian ryegrass line LNG8 (with low 0.12% dry matter (DM) of nitrate-nitrogen) and a second line JFIR12 (with a “normal” 0.20% DM of nitrate-nitrogen) were pair-crossed and 190 F2 individuals derived from these were used to construct an SSR-based linkage map for conducting QTL analysis. A linkage map was constructed based on 212 Lolium SSR markers. The female parental map consisted of seven linkage groups (LGs) and had a total length of 714.1 cM with 178 loci and an average map density of 4.0 cM. The male parental map consisted of 7 LGs and had a total length of 737.4 cM with 199 loci and an average map density of 3.7 cM. We measured the nitrate-nitrogen content of the mapping population in three replicates (including the main stem and two tillers separated from the main stem) at the six-leaf stage. The nitrate-nitrogen content of the mapping population followed a normal distribution with a marginal skewness toward the lower parent. Our analysis revealed the presence of six QTLs on three LGs. A major QTL on LG1 was detected in all three replicates in both two-parental maps, which could explain 19.4%–29.9% of the phenotypic variation. Furthermore, based on the information of model plant species such as rice and Arabidopsis, we cloned six nitrogen metabolism-related genes and attempted to locate these on our linkage maps; however, none of these six genes were located in the demarcated QTL regions. These results will be useful for understanding the genetic bases of nitrate-nitrogen content in Italian ryegrass and the molecular cloning of QTLs for determination of nitrate-nitrogen content. The flanking markers of the QTLs will be helpful for breeding Italian ryegrass with low nitrate-nitrogen content.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31571733).

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Author notes

  1. Tahei Kawachi

    Present address: Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, 2 Ikenodia, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305–0901, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Seed Science, China Agricultural University, MOE, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Wenqing Tan, Jun Chen & Hongwei Cai

  2. College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Di Zhang & Hongwei Cai

  3. Japan Grassland Agricultural and Forage Seed Association, Forage Crop Research Institute, 388-5 Higashiakada, Nasushiobara, Tochigi, 329-2742, Japan

    Nana Yuyama, Shinichi Sugita & Hongwei Cai

  4. Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, 768 Senbonmatsu, Nasushiobara, Tochigi, 329-2793, Japan

    Tahei Kawachi

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  1. Wenqing Tan
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Contributions

CH designed the experiments; SS and KT made the mapping population; TW, ZD, YN and CJ performed the experiments; TW and CH analyzed the data; and CH and TW wrote the manuscript, all authors read the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hongwei Cai.

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Tan, W., Zhang, D., Yuyama, N. et al. Quantitative trait loci analysis of nitrate-nitrogen content in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Euphytica 217, 15 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-020-02737-0

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