Mapping QTLs for traits related to salinity tolerance at seedling stage of rice (Oryza sativa L.): an agrigenomics study of an Iranian rice population.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important food crops in the world, especially in Asian countries, and salinity is a major constraint to the sustainability and expansion of rice cultivation. Genetically improving salt tolerance of rice is a highly important objective of rice breeding programs. Traits such as salt tolerance are quantitatively inherited. Hence, mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) with molecular markers can be very helpful to plant breeders in the field of agricultural genomics (AgriGenomics). In this investigation, QTL analysis of physiological traits related to salt tolerance was carried out using F2:4 population of rice derived from a cross between a salt-tolerant variety, Gharib (indica), and a salt-sensitive variety, Sepidroud (indica). A linkage map based on 148 F2 individuals was constructed with 131 SSR markers and 105 AFLP markers, covering 2475.7 cM of rice genome with an average distance of 10.48 cM between flanking markers. A total of 41 QTLs for twelve physiological traits under salinity stress were detected distributed on all rice chromosomes, some of them being reported for the first time. Also, overlapping of QTLs related to salt tolerance were observed in this study. Some of the identified QTLs on specific chromosomal regions explaining high phenotypic variance could be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs. New QTLs retrieved in this study play an important role in growth of rice at seedling stage in an Iranian local population under high salinity conditions.