Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Apr 25;24(1):338. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05052-1.
Proper pericarp thickness protects the maize kernel against pests and diseases, moreover, thinner pericarp improves the eating quality in fresh corn. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in maize pericarp during kernel development and identified the major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for maize pericarp thickness. It was observed that maize pericarp thickness first increased and then decreased. During the growth and formation stages, the pericarp thickness gradually increased and reached the maximum, after which it gradually decreased and reached the minimum during maturity. To identify the QTLs for pericarp thickness, a BCF population was constructed using maize inbred lines B73 (recurrent parent with thick pericarp) and Baimaya (donor parent with thin pericarp). In addition, a high-density genetic map was constructed using maize 10 K SNP microarray. A total of 17 QTLs related to pericarp thickness were identified in combination with the phenotypic data. The results revealed that the heritability of the thickness of upper germinal side of pericarp (UG) was 0.63. The major QTL controlling UG was qPT1-1, which was located on chromosome 1 (212,215,145-212,948,882). The heritability of the thickness of upper abgerminal side of pericarp (UA) was 0.70. The major QTL controlling UA was qPT2-1, which was located on chromosome 2 (2,550,197-14,732,993). In addition, a combination of functional annotation, DNA sequencing analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) screened two candidate genes, Zm00001d001964 and Zm00001d002283, that could potentially control maize pericarp thickness. This study provides valuable insights into the improvement of maize pericarp thickness during breeding.
适当的果皮厚度可以保护玉米籽粒免受病虫害的侵害，此外，较薄的果皮可以提高鲜食玉米的食用品质。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究玉米果皮在籽粒发育过程中的动态变化，并鉴定玉米果皮厚度的主要数量性状位点（QTLs）。结果表明，玉米果皮厚度先增加后减少。在生长和形成阶段，果皮厚度逐渐增加并达到最大值，之后在成熟阶段逐渐减少并达到最小值。为了鉴定果皮厚度的 QTL，我们使用玉米自交系 B73（果皮厚的轮回亲本）和 Baimaya（果皮薄的供体亲本）构建了 BCF 群体。此外，还使用玉米 10K SNP 微阵列构建了高密度遗传图谱。结合表型数据，共鉴定到与果皮厚度相关的 17 个 QTL。结果表明，果皮上胚轴厚度（UG）的遗传力为 0.63。控制 UG 的主要 QTL 是 qPT1-1，位于第 1 号染色体（212,215,145-212,948,882）上。果皮上胚轴厚度（UA）的遗传力为 0.70。控制 UA 的主要 QTL 是 qPT2-1，位于第 2 号染色体（2,550,197-14,732,993）上。此外，通过功能注释、DNA 测序分析和定量实时 PCR（qPCR）的组合，筛选到两个可能控制玉米果皮厚度的候选基因 Zm00001d001964 和 Zm00001d002283。本研究为玉米果皮厚度的改良提供了有价值的见解。
