Identification of major genetic loci for plant height in bread wheat

Abstract Many genetic loci for wheat plant height (PH) have been identified, and 25 dwarfing genes have been catalogued. However, major and stable genetic loci for PH have not been well documented. To identify such loci for PH, here we comprehensively summarized functionally verified or genetic dwarfing loci from QTL mapping and genome-wide association study published from 2003 to 2012. Totally, 331 QTL, 270 associated loci and 83 genes for PH were integrated onto chromosomes according to their locations in the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) reference genome and 65 QTL-rich clusters (QRC) were defined. Candidate genes in each QRC were predicted based on gene annotations in the IWGSC RefSeq v2.1 and the information on functional validation of homologous genes in other species. A total of 38 candidate genes were predicted for 65 QRC including three GA2ox genes in QRC-4B-IV, QRC-5A-VIII and QRC-6A-II (Rht24) as well as GA 20-oxidase 2 (TaSD1-3A) in QRC-3A-IV. These outcomes lay concrete foundations for map-based cloning of wheat dwarfing genes and application in breeding.