Comparative QTL analysis of early short-time drought tolerance in Polish fodder and malting spring barleys.

key messageAn effective approach for the further evolution of QTL markers, may be to create mapping populations for locally adapted gene pools, and to phenotype the studied trait under local conditions. Mapping populations of Polish fodder and malting spring barleys (Hordeum vulgare L.) were used to analyze traits describing short-time drought response at the seedlings stage. High-throughput genotyping (Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers) and phenotyping techniques were used. The results showed high genetic diversity of the studied populations which allowed the creation of high-density linkage maps. There was also high diversity in the physiological responses of the barleys. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis revealed 18 QTLs for nine physiological traits on all chromosomes except 1H in malting barley and 15 QTLs for five physiological traits on chromosomes 2H, 4H, 5H and 6H in fodder barley. Chromosomes 4H and 5H contained QTLs which explained most of the observed phenotypic variations in both populations. There was a major QTL for net photosynthetic rate in the malting barley located on chromosome 5H and two major QTLs for overall photochemical performance (PI) located on 5H and 7H. One major QTL related to photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence was located on chromosome 4H in fodder barley. Three QTL regions were common to both mapping populations but the corresponding regions explained different drought-induced traits. One region was for QTLs related to PSII photosynthetic activity stress index in malting barley, and the corresponding region in fodder barley was related to the water content stress index. These results are in accordance with previous studies which showed that different traits were responsible for drought tolerance variations in fodder and malting barleys.