Mining Elite Sea-Island Cotton Germplasm Based on Phenotyping and SSR Markers

[Objective] An elite germplasm resource of sea-island cotton with outstanding traits was mined in order to accelerate the breeding process of new varieties. [Method] The core collections of sea-island cotton germplasm consisted of 178 accessions were used as experimental materials in this study. Analyses of variability and diversity were performed through detecting phenotypic data of six main breeding-targeted traits, including boll weight, boll number per plant, lint percentage, fiber length, fiber strength, and micronaire. The elite germplasm of sea-island cotton was selected according to 10% optimal sampling strategy based on the phenotypic value of each trait. The 120 pairs of polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were used to analyze the polymorphism of 178 accessions of the core collections. Then, we conducted the population structure and clustering analysis based on the genotyping results. According to the results of cluster analysis, the primary elite germplasm was further selected, and the final elite germplasm of sea-island cotton was identified. [Result] The results showed that there was a high variability and abundant genetic diversity in the 6 studied traits. In 178 accessions of sea-island cotton, 262 alleles were detected by 120 pairs of SSR primers, with an average of 2.18 loci. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.067 8-0.630 0, with an average of 0.296 0, showing moderate polymorphism. The cluster analysis showed that the core collection of sea-island cotton was divided into six groups. twenty-three elite germplasm resources of sea-island cotton were identified based on phenotypic value and cluster analysis of SSR markers. [Conclusion] The germplasm of sea-island cotton can be analyzed and evaluated based on the phenotyping and SSR markers, and then the elite germplasm of sea-island cotton can be identified. These results provided the material basis for the genetic breeding of sea-island cotton, as well as the important reference and basis for the mining and identification of crop elite germplasm.     

Construction of a genetic linkage map and QTL analysis of fiber-related traits in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

A genetic linkage map with 70 loci (55 SSR, 12 AFLP and 3 morphological loci) was constructed using 117 F₂ plants obtained from a cross between two upland cotton cultivars Yumian 1 and T586, which have relatively high levels of DNA marker polymorphism and differ remarkably in fiber-related traits. The linkage map comprised of 20 linkage groups, covering 525 cM with an average distance of 7.5 cM between two markers, or approximately 11.8% of the recombination length of the cotton genome. The present genetic linkage map was used to identify and map the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting lint percentage and fiber quality traits in 117 F_2:3 family lines. Sixteen QTLs for lint percentage and fiber quality traits were identified in six linkage groups by multiple interval mapping: four QTLs for lint percentage, two QTLs for fiber 2.5% span length, three QTLs for fiber length uniformity, three QTLs for fiber strength, two QTLs for fiber elongation and two QTLs for micronaire reading. The QTL controlling fiber-related traits were mainly additive, and meanwhile including dominant and overdominant. Several QTLs affecting different fiber-related traits were detected within the same chromosome region, suggesting that genes controlling fiber traits may be linked or the result of pleiotropy.     

Microsatellite markers associated with lint percentage trait in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum

Molecular markers associated with fiber development traits have the potential to play a key role in understanding of cotton fiber development. Seventeen SSRs out of 304 markers tested from MGHES (EST-SSR), JESPR (genomic SSR), and TMB (BAC-derived SSR) collections showed significant linkage associations (using a Kurskal-Wallis non-parametric test) with lint percentage QTL in a set of recombinant inbred cotton lines (RILs) segregating for lint percentage. The permutation test of these potential markers associated with lint percentage QTL(s) determined that 12 SSR markers have stable estimates, exceeding empirically chosen threshold significance values at or above α = 0.01. Interval mapping demonstrated that 9 SSRs with stable critical LOD threshold values at α = 0.01 have significant QTL effect. Multiple QTL-mapping (MQM) revealed that at least, two highly significant fiber development QTLs exist around regions TMB0471 and MGHES–31 (explained about 23–59% of the phenotypic variation of lint percentage) and around markers MGHES–31 and TMB0366 (accounted for 5.4–12.5% phenotypic variation of lint percentage). These markers, in particular fiber-specific EST-SSRs, might be the possible ‘candidate’ loci contributing for fiber development in cotton. BAC-derived SSRs associated with fiber trait are the possible markers that are useful for the identification of physical genomic contigs that contain fiber development genes. Several lint percentage trait associated SSR markers have been located to chromosomes 12, 18, 23, and 26 using deletion analysis in aneuploid chromosome substitution lines. Outcomes of the work may prove useful in understanding and revealing the molecular basis of the fiber development, and the utilization of these markers for development of superior cotton cultivars through marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs. I. Y. Abdurakhmonov and S. Saha contributed equally to the work     

Genome-wide association study of yield components and fibre quality traits in a cotton germplasm diversity panel

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on a diversity panel of 103 cotton accessions over three seasons to determine genetic contributions to a range of cotton yield components including fibre quality, plant architecture and stomatal conductance traits. The accessions covered breeding lines, released cultivars and some obsolete cultivars that contributed significantly to modern breeding pools. They were genotyped with Illumina’s CottonSNP63 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay. Broad-sense heritability was low for yield component traits (\(h_{B}^{2}\) = 0.14–0.43), except for gin turnout and boll weight (\(h_{B}^{2}\)) = 0.74 and 0.59, respectively), and low to high for fibre quality traits (\(h_{B}^{2}\) = 0.26–0.89). Population structure analysis revealed extensive admixture and cryptic relatedness amongst the accessions. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses showed LD decayed, on average, within a physical distance of 5 Mbp and reduced to 2 Mbp at r ² ≥ 0.2, suggesting that few markers are necessary for association mapping in cotton. A mixed linear model accounting for population structure and cryptic relatedness identified 17 and 50 significant SNP associations for fibre length and micronaire, respectively. GWAS failed to detect significant associations in other traits, with the contribution of any single SNP to the phenotypic falling below 5%. This may be due to the low level of DNA polymorphism in cotton and/or insufficient resolution provided by the cotton SNP chip. Whole genome sequencing combined with whole genomic selection approaches that do not require prior knowledge about the effect or function of individual SNPs may be better suited than GWAS for trait dissection and prediction in cotton breeding.     

Association analysis of physicochemical traits on eating quality in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Improvement of rice eating quality is an important objective in current breeding programs. In this study, 130 rice accessions of diverse origin were genotyped using 170 SSR markers to identify marker–trait associations with physicochemical traits on eating quality. Analysis of population structure revealed four subgroups in the population. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns and distributions are of fundamental importance for genome-wide mapping associations. The mean r ² value for all intrachromosomal loci pairs was 0.0940. LD between linked markers decreased with distance. Marker–trait associations were investigated using the unified mixed-model approach, considering both population structure (Q) and kinship (K). In total, 101 marker–trait associations (p < 0.05) were identified using 52 different SSR markers covering 12 chromosomes. The results suggest that association mapping in rice is a viable alternative to quantitative trait loci mapping, and detection of new marker–trait associations associated with rice eating quality will also provide important information for marker-assisted breeding and functional analysis of rice grain quality.     

Genetic diversity and association mapping of forage quality in diverse bermudagrass accessions

Bermudagrass is a warm season grass widely cultivated for turf and fodder. Nonetheless, the grass has poor forage quality because animals that consume it fail to assimilate its organic matter efficiently. Thus, identification of the marker-trait association between simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and forage-quality-related traits in diverse bermudagrass accessions would enable efficient selection of high forage quality bermudagrass cultivars. Association mapping of 8 forage-related-quality traits with 1474 markers was conducted in 60 diverse bermudagrass accessions from five geographical regions in China. Significant variations in eight phenotypic and physiological traits were observed among the 60 accessions. A total of 1474 alleles were amplified by 104 SSR primers. The average gene diversity and polymorphic information content for the study sample were 0.2097 and 0.1748 respectively. The clustering analysis suggested that geographic origin influenced genetic distances between accessions. A total of 76 markers significantly associated with traits at P < 0.01; 73 with a single trait and 3 with two traits each. Nevertheless, only 41 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were observed after Bonferroni test was separately conducted for each trait. Forty-one microsatellites had significant associations with 8 forage-quality-related traits. These markers provide a feasible means of genetically improving forage quality in bermudagrass after further authentication.     

陆地棉衣分差异群体产量及产量构成因素

 以衣分差异较大的陆地棉品种为材料,构建了包含188个F₂单株的作图群体,应用6111对SSR引物对亲本进行了分子标记筛选,结果仅获得了123个多态性位点,其中88个位点构建了总长为666.7 cM、平均距离为7.57 cM的遗传图谱,覆盖棉花基因组的14.9%。通过复合区间作图法对F₂单株和F_2∶3家系进行QTL检测,共鉴定出了18个控制产量及产量构成因素变异的QTLs,包括2个衣分QTLs、4个子棉产量QTLs、4个皮棉产量QTLs、2个衣指QTLs、3个单株铃数QTLs、2个铃重QTLs和1个子指QTL。 解释的表型变异分别为\{6.9%\}～16.9%、5.6%～16.2%、4.8%～15.6%、7.7%～13.3%、8.2%～11.6%、6.1%～7%和6.6%。不同QTLs在相同染色体区段上的成簇分布表明与产量性状相关的基因可能紧密连锁或一因多效。产量及产量构成因素QTLs的遗传方式主要以显性和超显性效应为主。检测到的主效QTLs可以用于棉花产量及产量构成因素的分子标记辅助选择。     

Targeted identification of association between cotton fiber quality traits and microsatellite markers

Primitive and exotic accessions of cotton are potential sources of favorable alleles for genetic improvement, enriching diversity in the genetically constricted gene pool of elite cultivars. Three exotic accessions of cotton (MDN101, MDN063 and MDN257), collected from different parts of Central America and converted to day-neutral flowering; and four elite cultivars (PD94042, DES56, PMHS200 and Acala Maxxa) representing the US cotton gene pool were used as parents to create experimental populations. The corresponding F₂ and F_2:3 progenies of these populations were grown in two successive years (i.e., some in 2011–2012, some in 2012–2013) and phenotypes were scored in both F₂ and F_2:3 progenies in all 3 years (2011–2012–2013). These populations were screened with 113 polymorphic microsatellite markers selected from “hotspots” for fiber quality quantitative trait loci in the cotton genome and single marker analyses were performed to identify significant associations of the markers with six fiber quality traits. A total of 134 nominal marker-trait associations were identified, among which 15 were significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. In 67 of 134 nominal associations and 4 of 15 significant associations, the exotic parents contributed favorable alleles to multiple backgrounds and for multiple traits, in addition to the traits for which they were selected. These results indicate that utilization of exotic and wild accessions of cotton is useful in introducing favorable alleles into the cultivated cotton gene pool for genetic improvement.     

Genetic diversity for agronomic and fiber traits in day-neutral accessions derived from primitive cotton germplasm

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL) is an important crop that is cultivated in warm climates through-out the world. Agronomic performance and fiber quality must continually be improved if cotton is to maintain economic viability. Primitive ancestors of cotton contain diversity for trait improvement; however, many of these accessions have a short-day flowering response (photoperiodic) and are not readily useable in breeding programs. In this study, 114 day-neutral derived primitive germplasm lines were evaluated in field trials for two years. Agronomic and fiber trait data were collected and analyzed. Variance components, genotypic values, and genotypic correlations were calculated. Genotypic effects for all traits studied made significant contributions to the phenotypic variation indicating genetic diversity among these lines. The predicted genotypic values showed a wide range of variation for agronomic and fiber traits. Weak genotypic correlations were found between yield and 2.5% span length and fiber strength, two important fiber traits. Although these day-neutral derived accessions had lower lint percentage, they had improved fiber length, strength, micronaire, and comparable yields with two commercial cultivars. Thus, these day-neutral derived accessions are sources of genetic variation that when used in breeding programs offer the potential to improve important traits and expand genetic diversity.Contribution of the USDA-ARS in cooperation with the Mississippi Agric. and Forestry Exp. Stn. Mention of trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by USDA, ARS and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable.     

T1 locus in cotton is the candidate gene affecting lint percentage, fiber quality and spiny bollworm (Earias spp.) resistance

A genetic linkage map of chromosome 6 was constructed by using 270 recombinant inbred lines originated from an upland cotton cross (Yumian 1 × T586) F₂ population. The genetic map included one morphological (T₁) and 18 SSR loci, covering 96.2 cM with an average distance of 5.34 cM between two markers. Based on composite interval mapping (CIM), QTL(s) affecting lint percentage, fiber length, fiber length uniformity, fiber strength and spiny bollworm resistance (Earias spp.) were identified in the t₁ locus region on chromosome 6. The allele(s) originating from T586 of QTLs controlling lint percentage increased the trait phenotypic value while the alleles originating from Yumian 1 of QTLs affecting fiber length, fiber length uniformity, fiber strength and spiny bollworm resistance increased the trait phenotypic value.     

Linkage map construction and mapping QTL for cotton fibre quality using SRAP, SSR and RAPD

Tetraploid cotton is one of the most extensively cultivated species. Two tetraploid species, Gossypium hirsutum L. and G. barbadense L., dominate the world's cotton production. To better understand the genetic basis of cotton fibre traits for the improvement of fibre quality, a genetic linkage map of tetraploid cotton was constructed using sequence‐related amplified polymorphisms (SRAPs), simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs). A total of 238 SRAP primer combinations, 368 SSR primer pairs and 600 RAPD primers were used to screen polymorphisms between G. hirsutum cv. Handan208 and G. barbadense cv. Pima90 which revealed 749 polymorphic loci in total (205 SSRs, 107 RAPDs and 437 SRAPs). Sixty‐nine F₂ progeny from the interspecific cross of ‘Handan208’בPima90’ were genotyped with the 749 polymorphic markers. A total of 566 loci were assembled into 41 linkage groups with at least three loci in each group. Twenty‐eight linkage groups were assigned to corresponding chromosomes by SSR markers with known chromosome locations. The map covered 5141.8 cM with a mean interlocus space of 9.08 cM. A × test for significance of deviations from the expected ratio (1: 2: 1 or 3: 1) identified 135 loci (18.0%) with skewed segregation, most of which had an excess of maternal parental alleles. In total, 13 QTL associated with fibre traits were detected, among which two QTL were for fibre strength, four for fibre length and seven for micronaire value. These QTL were on nine linkage groups explaining 16.18‐28.92% of the trait variation. Six QTL were located in the A subgenome, six QTL in the D subgenome and one QTL in an unassigned linkage group. There were three QTL for micronaire value clustered on LG1, which would be very useful for improving this trait by molecular marker‐assisted selection.     

陆地棉种质资源抗旱性状的关联分析

干旱是导致全世界棉花严重减产、纤维品质下降的重要因素,因此获得高产、优质、耐旱的棉花新品种一直是棉花的育种目标。本研究选取217份陆地棉栽培种组成的自然群体为研究对象,采用全生育期处理组灌水量为对照组50%的干旱胁迫处理,并在处理后期对217份材料的株高、衣分、单铃重等18个性状进行2年2点的表型鉴定,干旱胁迫后,群体间响应差异明显,多个表型性状在对照和处理间表现显著差异。通过BLUP分析表型数据并计算各性状的抗旱系数;全基因组范围选取的214对多态性SSR分子标记扫描群体,共检测到393个多态性位点,基因多样性系数平均值为0.402,范围为0.072～0.631, PIC值平均为0.329,范围为0.070～0.560;群体结构分析表明,该群体可分为2个亚群。用上述SSR标记分别对18个性状的抗旱系数进行关联分析,共关联到76个极显著位点(P<0.01),表型变异解释率为2.930%～7.218%,其中共有14个标记位点能同时被2种或以上性状检测到。研究结果可为后期棉花杂交育种亲本选择及抗旱分子标记辅助育种提供理论基础及参考依据。     

Heritability and predicted selection response of yield components and fibre properties in an inter-specific derived RIL population of cotton

Exploiting genetic variation through inter-specific breeding has improved cotton yield, fibre properties and adaptability. The objectives of this study were to examine heritability and predicted selection response of yield components and fibre properties in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from an inter-specific cross between Gossypium hirsutum (Gh) variety Guazuncho 2, and G. barbadense (Gb) line VH8-4602. A population of 93 and 82 RILs was tested in two seasons, with two parents and local controls, Sicot 75 (Gh) and Sipima 280 (Gb) in field experiments. Seed cotton samples hand harvested before and after defoliation were used to measure lint percent, boll weight, 100 seed weight and the lint to measure fibre length, uniformity, short fibre index (SFI), elongation, strength, micronaire, maturity ratio (MR), percent of maturity (PM) and fineness. There was large phenotypic variation for individual traits and transgressive segregation occurred in lint percent, lint weight/seed, fibre no./seed, uniformity, SFI, elongation, MR and PM. Narrow sense heritabilities were moderate for yield components (34.3–41.2%) and for key fibre properties, length, strength, micronaire and fineness (38.3–42.1%), which led to a predicted selection response of 6.7–24.0% for yield components and 3.9–10.9% for key fibre properties under a selection intensity of 10%. Favourable associations were found between key fibre properties, but an adverse association between lint percent and each of these fibre properties. Only five RILs were identified with desirable combinations. The results demonstrated the value of exploiting inter-specific variation to develop cotton germplasm and how breeding strategies can be improved.     

Association mapping for seed cotton yield,yield components and fibre quality traits in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes

Association mapping has revolutionized human genetics and is increasingly used in plant genetics. It is an efficient way of determining the genetic basis of complex traits. In cotton so far numerous association mapping studies are available as compared to many other important crops. In our study, mapping was performed using cotton 63K infinium beadchip with 201 germplasm lines. Through fast STRUCTURE analysis, lines were grouped into 12 subgroups and revealed genome sharing among the groups. The critical value (R²) was set to 0.243 as threshold to claim LD between two loci. About 3.13% marker pairs recorded significantly high LD (R² = 1), and 8.19% of marker pairs were in the range of 0.3 to 0.99 R². In MLM, 349 significant marker–trait associations were detected as against 642 in GLM because of effectiveness in eliminating false associations in MLM. A total of 68 markers explained >10% phenotypic variation for yield and fibre quality traits. Phenotypic variation explained by markers was smaller, suggesting that they might be associated with minor QTLs.     

QTL identification for molecular breeding of fibre yield and fibre quality traits in jute

In jute (Corchorus olitorius), quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was conducted to study the genetics of eight fibre yield traits and two fibre quality traits. For this purpose, we used a mapping population consisting of 120 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and also used a linkage map consisting of 36 SSR markers that was developed by us earlier (Das et al. 2011). The RIL population was derived from the cross JRO 524 (coarse fibre) × PPO4 (fine fibre) following single seed descent. Using single-locus analysis involving composite interval mapping, a total of 21 QTLs were identified for eight fibre yield traits whereas for fibre quality (fibre fineness), only one QTL was detected. The QTL for fibre fineness explained 8.31–10.56% of the phenotypic variation and was detected in two out of three environments. Using two-locus analysis involving QTLNetwork, as many as 11 M-QTLs were identified for seven fibre yield traits (excluding top diameter) and one M-QTL was identified for fibre fineness which accounted for 4.57% of the phenotypic variation. For six fibre yield traits, we detected 16 E-QTLs involved in nine QQ epistatic interactions. For fibre fineness, four E-QTLs involved in two QQ epistatic interactions and for fibre strength, six E-QTLs involved in three QQ epistatic interactions were identified. Eight out of the 11 M-QTLs observed for the fibre yield traits were also involved in QE interactions; for fibre fineness and fibre strength, no QE interactions were observed.     

Association mapping identifies markers related to major early‐maturating traits in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Association mapping is a promising tool to identify genes for quantitative traits. A total of 172 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) accessions were assessed. The panel was phenotyped for four major early‐maturating traits across multiple environments and genotyped using 331 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The gene diversity of the 331 markers averaged 0.40 (range: 0.04–0.78), and the polymorphism information content (PIC) averaged 0.34 (range: 0.04–0.75). Thirty‐nine significant markers related to early‐maturating traits were simultaneously detected in at least two environments. Among the 39 markers, 11 for seed period (SP), seven for bud period (BP), six for flower and boll period (FBP), and 15 for growth period (GP). These markers were stable and could be used for marker‐assisted selection (MAS). Favourable alleles for SP, BP, FBP and GP were explored. These alleles can be directly used in MAS to improve cotton early maturity. This study lays the foundation for analysing the genetic mechanisms underlying early maturity, as well as the use of MAS to target traits in cotton.     

陆地棉重组近交系产量及其构成因素的QTL分析

利用爱字棉1517×德州047重组近交系(recombinant inbred lines, RIL)中G6群体构建的SSR遗传连锁图谱及基于混合线性模型的复合区间作图法对QTL进行定位,并对主效QTL,加性×加性上位性QTL及与环境互作效应进行分析,为利用分子聚合方法提高产量提供理论依据。对2006年、2008年以及2009年的产量性状进行分离分析,检测到24个不同年份的主效QTL,其中相关于单株籽棉、单株皮棉、衣分、子指以及单株铃数的分别检测到1个不同年份稳定存在的主效QTL;对3年的产量性状作环境因子联合分析,检测到14个主效QTL,其中6个与环境互作,检测到20对加加上位性QTL,其中7对与环境互作。不同年份检测的稳定且受环境影响小或不受环境影响的与近处标记紧密连锁的主效QTL可用于分子标记辅助选择,以提高育种的效率。     

陆地棉SSR标记遗传多样性及其与农艺性状的关联分析

分析陆地棉栽培种遗传多样性,通过关联分析寻找与棉花农艺性状相关联的分子标记,为分子标记辅助选择育种和提高棉花育种效率奠定基础。本文采用74个Simple sequence repeat(SSR)标记对172份陆地棉栽培种的基因组变异进行扫描,使用NTSYS-pc 2.20进行聚类,分析该群体遗传多样性;利用Structure 2.3.4软件分析群体结构,在此基础上结合田间表型数据,采用Tassel 2.1的一般线性模型(General linear model,GLM)进行关联分析,定位与农艺性状相关的QTLs。74个标记共检测到148个多态性位点,涉及246个等位变异,变异范围2~7个,平均等位变异数为3.32;引物的多态性信息含量(PIC)为0.0281~0.3733,平均值为0.2370;遗传相似系数变异在0.2816~1,平均值为0.5369,平均遗传相似系数为0.5369,表明我国陆地棉遗传基础狭窄,尽管国外及西北内陆棉区部分材料具有较丰富的遗传变异。聚类分析将该群体划分为12个亚群,不同棉区的材料交叉分布,且聚类结果基本与系谱吻合。群体结构分析却将172份供试材料划分为3个亚群;通过关联分析,发现30个位点与铃重、衣分、黄萎病抗性显著相关(P0.05),各位点对表型变异贡献率为2.24%~5.27%。     

Relationship between molecular marker heterozygosity and hybrid performance in intra- and interspecific hybrids of cotton

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between parental molecular marker diversity and hybrid performance in both intra‐ and interspecific hybrids of cotton to evaluate the feasibility of predicting hybrid performance using molecular markers. Three cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines were crossed with 10 restorer lines to produce 22 F₁ hybrids during 2003. Of 22 F₁s, 14 hybrids were intraspecific (Gossypium hirsutum × G. hirsutum) and eight interspecific (G. hirsutum × G. barbadense). These 22 F₁ hybrids and their parents were evaluated for yield and fibre quality traits at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China during 2004 and 2005. Genetic distances (GD) among the parents were calculated from 56 random‐amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD) and 66 simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker data, and their correlation with hybrid performance and heterosis were analysed. The parents could be discriminated into G. hirsutum and G. barbadense clusters by cluster analysis based on both RAPD and SSR markers data. The correlation (r = 0.503, P ≤ 0.05) was calculated between GD_rapd (GD based on RAPD markers) and GD_ssr (GD based on SSR markers). Correlation of GD with hybrid performance and heterosis differed considerably between intra‐ and interspecific hybrids. The correlation between GD and hybrid performance was non‐significant for most of traits within the hybrids of G. hirsutum species. However, it was significantly and positively correlated for fibre length, fibre strength and elongation in interspecific hybrids. The relationship between GD and heterosis was observed to be positively significant for boll weight within hybrids of G. hirsutum with significant and negative correlations for fibre length and elongation. In conclusion, the power of predicting hybrid performance using molecular markers in cotton is low. But, the relationship between SSR marker heterozygosity and hybrid performance can be used to predict fibre length during interspecific hybrid cotton breeding.     

Detection of quantitative trait locus for leaffolder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée)) resistance in rice on linkage group 1 based on damage score and flag leaf width

Rice leaffolder (RLF) (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) is a destructive and widespread insect pest throughout the rice growing regions in Asia. The genetics of resistance to RLF in rice is very complex and not thoroughly explored. The present study was conducted to detect the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with RLF resistance involving 176 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of F₈ generation derived from a cross between IR36, a leaffolder susceptible variety and TNAULFR831311, a moderately resistant indica rice culture. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to construct specific linkage groups of rice. All the RILs were screened to assess their level of resistance to RLF by measuring the leaf area damaged. Besides this, the length and width of the flag leaf of each RIL were measured since these two parameters were considered as correlated traits to the RLF resistance in rice. All the above parameters observed across the RILs showed quantitative variation. Correlation analysis revealed that damage score based on greenhouse screening was positively correlated with length and width of the flag leaf. Out of 364 SSR markers analysed, 90 were polymorphic between the parents. Multi-point analysis carried out on segregating 69 SSR marker loci linkage group wise resulted in construction of linkage map with eleven groups of 42 SSR markers. Through single marker analysis, 19 SSR markers were found to have putative association with the three phenotypic traits studied. Of these markers, RM472 was identified as a locus having major effect on RLF resistance trait based on length of the flag leaf. Interval mapping detected two QTLs on linkage group 1. Among these QTLs, the QTL flanked by RM576–RM3412 were found to be associated with width of the flag leaf and RLF resistance. The putative SSR markers associated with leaffolder resistance identified in the present study may be one of the loci contributing resistance to RLF in rice.