Identification of QTLs Controlling Seedling Traits in Temperate Japonica Rice under Different Water Conditions

The objective of this study was to detect QTLs for rice seedling traits under normal water (control) and low water conditions (drought stress). Ninety-eight recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between closely-related japonica cultivars, M-203 and M-206 were grown under both low water and normal water conditions. QTLs for morphological traits were investigated at seedling stage using 5,164 single nucleotide polymorphisms via genotyping-by-sequencing. Twenty-three QTLs were associated with four seedling traits: shoot length (SL), root length (RL), shoot dry weight (SW) and root dry weight (RW), were detected and most QTLs were clustered on chromosome 1, 6, 7 and 11. Under normal water conditions, nine QTLs for seedling traits were detected and M-203 alleles increased all the values. The locations of most QTLs were consistent with genes that regulate or respond to auxin and gibberellin. For drought tolerance, fourteen QTLs were detected including seven for drought stress conditions and seven for relative performance (values from drought stress conditions/normal water conditions). Seven QTLs from drought stress conditions coincided with the loci of previously identified drought tolerance genes. Based on the shoot and root length under drought stress conditions, five lines exhibiting the highest values in common were selected as a drought tolerance group. Those lines exhibited better growth than the parents under drought stress conditions and had QTLs alleles for drought tolerance detected in this study. QTL information and selected lines may be used for improving seedling vigor and drought tolerance of rice in breeding programs.