ABSTRACT
Tiller angle is one of the most important morphological characters that has a significant effect on the formation of rice high-yield population. The tiller angles were measured in a japonica/indica RIL population with 71 lines and a genome-wide chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) population with 65 lines at two experimental sites. A transgressive segregation was observed in both populations. QTL analysis of tiller angle was conducted based on the saturated RFLP marker linkage map and the CSSL graphical genetype. Five main-effect QTLs and three pairs of epstatic loci were detected in the RIL population. A main QTL, qTA-9, located on chromosome 9 at XNpb108 - C506, was identified at both experiment sites. The positive allele TA-9(I) on qTA-9 was contributed by indica rice IR24 with 28.6% average contribution to variance. Meanwhile, an analysis of CSSL graphical genetypes also showed that there was a positive allele on the IR24 chromosome substitution segment delimited by RFLP marker C609 and C506 with approximate 15 cM interval, which proved the existence of qTA-9. The TA-9(I) could increase tiller angle by about 15 degrees in japonica Asominori background under the two environments. The measurement of the F1 from the cross between background parent and CSSL AIS68 with TA-9(I) and the analysis of F2 population indicated that the TA-9(I) was an incomplete dominant gene. Genetype x environment interaction(G xE) was not widely present except a pair of epistatic loci with 5.32% contribution to variance of tiller angles and a relatively small additive effect. The combining action of the additive effect of the genes from both parents and the two-loci epistasis-effect may be responsible for the transgressive segregation of tiller angle in rice population. The value and approach of application of TA-9(I) in hybrid rice breeding program were discussed.
