Mapping quantitative trait loci in multiple populations of Arabidopsis thaliana identifies natural allelic variation for Trichome density

V. VAUGHAN SYMONDS; A. VERÓNICA GODOY; TERESA ALCONADA; JAVIER F. BOTTO; THOMAS E. JUENGER; JPRGE J. CASAL; ALAN M.LLOYD

GENETICS

Genetics Society of America

Año: 2005 vol. 1691 p. 1649 - 1658

0016-6731

The majority of biological traits are genetically complex. Mapping the quantitative trait loci  (QTL) that determine these phenotypes is a powerful means for estimating many parameters of the genetic architecture for a trait and potentially identifying the genes responsible for natural variation. Typically, such esperiments are conducted in a single mapping population and, therefore, have only the potential to reveal genomic regions that are polymorphic between the progenitors of the population. What remains unclear is how well the QTL identified in any one mapping experiment characterize the genetics that underlie natural variation in traits. Here we provdide QTL  mapping data for trichome density from four recombinant inbred mapping populations of  Arabidopsis thaliana. By aligning the linkage maps for these four populations onto a common physical map, the results from each experiment were directly compared. Seven of the nine QTL identified are population specific while two were mapped in all four populations. Our results show that many lineage-specific while two were mapped in all four populations. Our results show that many lineage-specific alleles that either increase or decreace trichome density persist in natural populations and that most of this genetic variation is addetive. Movvre generally, these findings suggest that the use of multiple populations holds great promise for better undeerstanding the genetic architectujre of natural variations.