Identification of genetic loci for flag leaf traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The flag leaf size of wheat is an “ideotypic” morphological trait that plays a critical role in plant architecture and grain yield by providing photosynthetic assimilates in wheat. Although many of the genomics research studies covered the flag leaf traits, including flag leaf length (FLL), width (FLW), area (FLA), thickness (FLT), and volume (FLV), for a better understanding, this research used a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between DH118 and Jinmai 919 to evaluate the genetic regions across six environments, including BLUP under both drought stress (DS) and well-watered (WW) conditions and analyze their correlation with traits related to grain yield. A total of 40 (QTL) quantitative trait loci controlling the five traits were detected across all environments, with phenotypic variance explaining (PVE) 5.09