A genome scan for quantitative trait loci affecting grain yield and its components of maize both in single-and two-locus levels

By adding thirty-one markers in the previous linkage map, a new genetic linkage map containing 205 markers was constructed, spanning a total of 2305.4 cM with an average interval of 11.2 cM. The genotypic errors in the whole genome were detected by the statistical method and removed manually. The precision of the linkage map was improved significantly. Main and epistatic QTL were detected by R/qtl, and main QTL were confirmed and refined by multiple interval mapping (MIM). Finally, MIM detected seven QTL for rows number, and five QTL for each grain yield, kernels per row and 100-kernel weight. The contribution to genetic variations of QTL varied from 35.3% for grain yield to 61.5% for rows number. Only kernels per row exhibited significant epistatic interactions between QTL. Twenty-four epistatic QTL were detected which distributed on almost all the ten chromosomes. About two-third epistatic QTL were observed between main QTL and another locus, which had no significant effects. These results indicate rather clearly that there are a number of QTL affecting trait expressions, not directly but indirectly through interactions with other loci. Thus, epistatic QTL effects may play a crucial role, if not more important than main QTL effects, in the genetic variation for the measured traits in present study.