Detection of heading date QTLs in advanced-backcross populations of an elite indica rice cultivar, IR64

IR64 is one of the world’s most popular rice cultivars. To collect genetic factors involved in controlling its heading date, we developed 70 reciprocal advanced-backcross populations with a total of 6284 individuals at the BC4F2 generation from crosses between Koshihikari and IR64. We detected 29 QTLs associated with heading date on chromosomes 3, 5–8, 10, and 12. Twenty QTLs were located in the same chromosome regions as previously isolated heading date genes (Hd1, Hd6, Hd16, Ghd7, DTH8, Hd17, and Hd18). The rest were located in other chromosome regions. We found more number of QTLs than previous studies using mapping populations of IR64. Fine mapping in additional advanced-backcross populations clearly revealed that QTLs on the long arm of chromosome 7 are overlapping and seem to be a novel genetic factor for heading date because of their different locations from OsPRR37. Our results suggest that the difference in heading date between IR64 and Koshihikari is genetically controlled by many factors, and that a non-functional allele of Hd1 contributes to early heading of IR64 in the genetic background of functional alleles of other heading date QTLs and genes such as Hd6 and Hd16.