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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (10): 4027-4039    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.03.027
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Mapping and candidate gene analysis of a QTL associated with leaf rolling index on chromosome 6D in bread wheat

Jun Zhu1, 3*, Lulu Gao1, 4*, Jiazheng Yu1, Guanghui Yang1, Mingshan You1, Yufeng Zhang1, Yirong Zhang2#, Lingling Chai1#

1 Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Ministry of Education/China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

2 National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

3 Key Laboratory of Wheat Biology and Genetic Improvement on Low and Middle Yangtze River Valley Wheat Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Yangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou 225007, China

4 College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China

 Highlights 
● Leaf rolling is strongly correlated with photosynthesis, transpiration, and respiration.
● A leaf rolling index quantitative trait locus, QLRI.cau-6D, was identified by using F2 and F2:3 populations.
● TraesCS6D02G237000 (TaHDZIV-D1) was shown to control leaf rolling through knockout and overexpression methods.
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摘要  

卷叶是小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)的一个重要形态特征,其与光合作用、蒸腾作用和呼吸作用密切相关,尤其是在非生物胁迫条件下,因此小麦卷叶数量性状位点(QTL)或基因的鉴定对小麦育种至关重要。本研究在农大3753的背景下鉴定到一株EMS诱导的叶片卷曲突变体Y536,将其与非卷叶京411杂交后获得F2和F2:3群体用于卷叶位点定位。在6DL染色体上鉴定到一个与卷叶指数(LRI)高度连锁的公共SSR标记,在其周围开发标记并进行QTL分析发现此QTL(QLRI.cau-6D)的LOD值在10.00至13.32之间,可解释7.69%至10.86%的表型变异。根据双亲编码区序列差异和基因功能注释,确定TraesCS6D02G237000(TaHDZIV-D1)为候选基因。与野生型对照相比,TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1在普通小麦材料“JW1”中的敲除系显著增加了LRI,TaHDZIV-D1在“JW1”中的过表达系显著降低了LRI直到相反的方向。此外,遗传证据证明TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1以剂量依赖性方式影响叶片卷曲。总之,这些发现为普通小麦卷叶的遗传基础提供了一个新的视角。



Abstract  

Leaf rolling is an important morphological trait in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that is strongly correlated with photosynthesis, transpiration, and respiration, especially in abiotic stress conditions.  The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes underlying leaf rolling is essential for wheat breeding.  In this study, the ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) induced mutant Y536 was isolated in a Nongda 3753 background with extreme abaxial leaf rolling.  The F2 and F2:3 populations derived from a cross between Jing411 and mutant Y536 with contrasting leaf rolling morphologies were developed to map the locus controlling leaf rolling.  A public SSR marker was isolated on chromosome 6DL that had a high linkage level with leaf rolling index (LRI).  QTL analysis revealed a stable QTL associated with LRI, named QLRI.cau-6D, which explained 7.69 to 10.86% of the total phenotypic variation and had LOD scores ranging from 10.00 to 13.32.  TraesCS6D02G237000 (TaHDZIV-D1) was identified as the priority candidate gene according to coding sequence differences between the two parents and gene functional annotations.  Consistently, knocking out TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1 in common wheat line ‘JW1’ significantly increased the LRI compared to the wild type, while overexpression of TaHDZIV-D1 in ‘JW1’ significantly reduced the LRI until the leaves rolled in the opposite direction.  Moreover, genetic evidence suggested that TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1 affects leaf rolling in a dose-dependent manner.  Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the genetic basis of leaf rolling in common wheat.

Keywords:  wheat        leaf rolling        QTL        TaHDZIV        homeodomain leucine zipper  
Received: 11 November 2024   Accepted: 24 January 2025 Online: 27 March 2025  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1200403) and the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (2024TC162).

About author:  #Correspondence Lingling Chai, Tel: +86-10-62734072, E-mail: llchai2019@cau.edu.cn; Yirong Zhang, Tel: +86-10-62734368, E-mail: zhangyr@cau.edu.cn * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Jun Zhu, Lulu Gao, Jiazheng Yu, Guanghui Yang, Mingshan You, Yufeng Zhang, Yirong Zhang, Lingling Chai. 2026. Mapping and candidate gene analysis of a QTL associated with leaf rolling index on chromosome 6D in bread wheat. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 25(10): 4027-4039.

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