The genetic architecture of growth traits in Salix matsudana under salt stress

Abstract

Willow (Salix) is one of the most important ornamental tree species in landscape plants. One species, Salix matsudana, is widely used as a shade tree and border tree because of its soft branches and plump crown. Some varieties of S. matsudana were salt tolerant and could grow normally in coastal regions. However, the molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance for S. matsudana have been less clear. Here, we addressed this issue by performing a mapping experiment containing 195 intraspecific F₁ progeny of S. matsudana, derived from salt-sensitive ‘yanjiang’ and salt-tolerant ‘9901’, grown by cuttings in a 100 mM NaCl solution. Growth performance of these progeny under salt stress was investigated, displaying marked genotypic variability with the coefficients of variance of 28.64–86.11% in shoot and root growth traits. We further mapped specific QTLs contributing to these differences to the Salix genome. Of the 204 QTLs identified, a few were detected to explain a remarkably larger portion of the phenotypic variation than many others. Many detected QTLs were found to reside in the region of candidate genes of known biological function. The discovery of growth QTLs expressed under salt stress provides important information for marker-assisted breeding of salt tolerant Salix varieties and founds the basis for the application of S. matsudana in coastal afforestation.

References

[1] Argus GW . Infrageneric classification of Salix (Salicaceae) in the New World. Syst Bot Monogr 1997; 52: 1-127.

[2] Berlin S, Ghelardini L, Bonosi L, Weih M, Rönnberg-Wästljung AC . QTL mapping of biomass and nitrogen economy traits in willows (Salix spp.) grown under contrasting water and nutrient conditions. Mol Breeding 2014; 34: 1987-2003.

[3] Ghelardini L, Berlin S, Weih M, Lagercrantz U, Gyllenstrand N, Ronnberg-Wastljung AC . Genetic architecture of spring and autumn phenology in Salix. BMC Plant Biol 2014; 14: 31.

[4] Brereton NJB, Pitre FE, Hanley SJ et al. QTL Mapping of enzymatic saccharification in short rotation coppice willow and its independence from biomass yield. BioEnerg Res 2010; 3: 251-261.

[5] Sulima P, Przyborowski JA, Zaluski D . RAPD Markers reveal genetic diversity in Salix purpurea L. Crop Sci 2009; 49: 857-863.

[6] Höglund S, Rönnberg-Wästljung AC, Lagercrantz U, Larsson S . A rare major plant QTL determines non-responsiveness to a gall-forming insect in willow. Tree Genet Genomes 2012; 8: 1051-1060.

[7] Samils B, Rönnberg-Wästljung A, Stenlid J . QTL mapping of resistance to leaf rust in Salix. Tree Genet Genomes 2011; 7: 1219-1235.

[8] Zhang J, Yuan HW, Li M et al. A high-density genetic map of tetraploid Salix matsudana using specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq). PLoS ONE 2016; 11: e0157777.

[9] Qiao G, Zhang X, Jiang J et al. Comparative proteomic analysis of responses to salt stress in Chinese willow (Salix matsudana Koidz). Plant Mol Biol Rep 2014; 32: 814-827.

[10] Gullberg U. Towards making willows pilot species for coppicing production. For Chron 1993; 69: 721-726.

[11] Shu Y, Li K, Song J, Li B, Tang C . Single and competitive adsorption of Cd (II) and Pb (II) from aqueous solution by activated carbon prepared with Salix matsudana Kiodz. Water Sci Technol 2016; 74: 2751-2761.

[12] Li M, Yu CM, Wang Y et al. Cloning and characterisation of two H+ translocating organic pyrophosphatase genes in Salix and their expression differences in two willow varieties with different salt tolerances. Curr Genomics 2014; 15: 341-348.

[13] Wang Y, Yuan HW, Li M et al. Phenotypic and physiological responses of two willow varieties to salt stress. Israel J Plant Sci 2013; 61: 73-82.

[14] Sun X, Liu D, Zhang X et al. SLAF-seq: an efficient method of large-scale de novo SNP discovery and genotyping using high-throughput sequencing. PLoS ONE 2013; 8: e58700.

[15] Tuskan GA, DiFazio S, Jansson S et al. The genome of black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray). Science 2006; 313: 1596-1604.

[16] Sun B, Zhan X, Lin Z et al. Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of qHD5, a novel major QTL with pleiotropism for yield-related traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Theor Appl Genet 2017; 130: 247-258.

[17] Hall D, Hallingbäck HR, Wu HX . Estimation of number and size of QTL effects in forest tree traits. Tree Genet Genomes 2016; 12: 110.

[18] Cai CF . High-density genetic linkage map construction and QTLs analyses for phenotypic traits in tree peony. Beijing Forestry University. 2015, 138pp.

[19] Alam A, Juraimi AS, Yusop MR, Hamid AA, Hakim A . Morpho-physiological and mineral nutrient characterization of 45 collected Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) accessions. Bragantia 2014; 73: 426-437.

[20] Zhang J, Zhang Q, Cheng T et al. High-density genetic map construction and identification of a locus controlling weeping trait in an ornamental woody plant (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc). DNA Res 2015; 22: 183-191.

[21] Thumma BR, Baltunis BS, Bell JC et al. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of growth and vegetative propagation traits in Eucalyptus nitens full-sib families. Tree Genet Genomes 2010; 6: 877-889.

[22] Tsarouhas V, Gullberg U, Lagercrantz U . An AFLP and RFLP linkage map and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of growth traits in Salix. Theor Appl Genet 2002; 105: 277-288.

[23] Rönnberg-Wästljung AC, Glynn C, Weih M . QTL analyses of drought tolerance and growth for a Salix dasyclados × Salix viminalis hybrid in contrasting water regimes. Theor Appl Genet 2005; 110: 537-549.

[24] Gailing O, Bodénès C, Finkeldey R, Kremer A, Plomion C . Genetic mapping of EST-derived simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) to identify QTL for leaf morphological characters in a Quercus robur full-sib family. Tree Genet Genomes 2013; 9: 1361-1367.

[25] Eduardo I, Chietera G, Pirona R et al. Genetic dissection of aroma volatile compounds from the essential oil of peach fruit: QTL analysis and identification of candidate genes using dense SNP maps. Tree Genet Genomes 2013; 9: 189-204.

[26] Montoya C, Lopes R, Flori A et al. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis of palm oil fatty acid composition in an interspecific pseudo-backcross from Elaeis oleifera (H.B.K.) Cortés and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Tree Genet Genomes 2013; 9: 1207-1225.

[27] McAdam EL, Freeman JS, Whittock SP et al. Quantitative trait loci in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) reveal complex genetic architecture underlying variation in sex, yield and cone chemistry. BMC Genomics 2013; 14: 360.

[28] Singh RK, Singh SP, Tiwari DK et al. Genetic mapping and QTL analysis for sugar yield-related traits in sugarcane. Euphytica 2013; 191: 333-353.

[29] Zhang Y, Wang L, Xin H et al. Construction of a high-density genetic map for sesame based on large scale marker development by specific length amplified fragment (SLAF) sequencing. BMC Plant Biol 2013; 13: 141.

[30] Hou J, Ye N, Zhang D et al. Different autosomes evolved into sex chromosomes in the sister genera of Salix and Populus. Sci Rep 2015; 5: 9076.

[31] Dai X, Hu Q, Cai Q et al. The willow genome and divergent evolution from poplar after the common genome duplication. Cell Res 2014; 24: 1274-1277.