title: Combining field performance with controlled environment plant imaging to identify the genetic control of growth and transpiration underlying yield response to water-deficit stress in wheat.
abstract: Crop yield in low-rainfall environments is a complex trait under multigenic control that shows significant genotype×environment (G×E) interaction. One way to understand and track this trait is to link physiological studies to genetics by using imaging platforms to phenotype large segregating populations. A wheat population developed from parental lines contrasting in their mechanisms of yield maintenance under water deficit was studied in both an imaging platform and in the field. We combined phenotyping methods in a common analysis pipeline to estimate biomass and leaf area from images and then inferred growth and relative growth rate, transpiration, and water-use efficiency, and applied these to genetic analysis. From the 20 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) found for several traits in the platform, some showed strong effects, accounting for between 26 and 43% of the variation on chromosomes 1A and 1B, indicating that the G×E interaction could be reduced in a controlled environment and by using dynamic variables. Co-location of QTLs identified in the platform and in the field showed a possible common genetic basis at some loci. Co-located QTLs were found for average growth rate, leaf expansion rate, transpiration rate, and water-use efficiency from the platform with yield, spike number, grain weight, grain number, and harvest index in the field. These results demonstrated that imaging platforms are a suitable alternative to field-based screening and may be used to phenotype recombinant lines for positional cloning.
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Parent
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Fahimeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shahinnia
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Lance
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maphosa
authors.affiliation: The Plant Accelerator, Australian Plant Phenomics Facility, University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: Huwaida
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rabie
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chalmers
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kovalchuk
authors.affiliation: The Plant Accelerator, Australian Plant Phenomics Facility, University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Langridge
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia delphine.fleury@acpfg.com.au.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fleury
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant; D055864:Droughts; D010641:Phenotype; D018526:Plant Transpiration; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Drought; Lemnatec; QTL; Triticum aestivum; leaf expansion; water-use efficiency.