QTL Mapping of Three Ear Traits Using a Doubled Haploid Population of Maize

Ear shape substantially correlates to grain yield, so understanding their genetic architecture is of great significance in maize breeding. Ear length (EL), ear diameter (ED), length of barren tip (LBT) and cob diameter (CD) were determined for 240 doubled haploid maize lines, and all four traits showed a relatively high broad sense heritability around 77%. Using this DH population consisting of 240 lines and a genetic map constructed from 964 SNPs, a total of five, four and three QTLs were identified for EL, ED and CD, respectively, in three various growing conditions. Among these, qEL1-1, qED1 and qCD1 were consistently mapped at an overlapping location on Chr1, which contributed 15.7, 28.3 and 22.6% of the phenotypic variation in EL, ED and CD, respectively. All other QTLs exhibited minor effect with the phenotypic variation explained ranging from 4.7% to 7.8%. Because most of the QTLs were detected in at least two different planting environments, they appear to be potential loci for gene isolation and marker development in maize molecular breeding.