Most traits of agronomical and economical interest (e.g. seed dormancy,
flowering time, fruit production, disease resistance, etc.) vary
quantitatively and are likely to have complex genetic inheritance. Their
phenotypic expression is determined by the combination of many genetic and
environmental factors. Although
naturally occurring genetic variation has already served as a valuable source
of genes for economically important traits, most of the genetic basis of
natural variation in plant growth and development remains unresolved
(Alonso-Blanco et al 2005).
Consequently there is still a wealth of untapped genetic variation
available for the improvement of crop species, and new tools to dissect and
exploit this resource are needed.
The goal of this project is to develop
recombinant inbred lines derived from a heterogeneous stock formed by the intermating of 19 Arabidopsis
thaliana accessions. HS were first
used to fine-map QTL in mice,
recombinant inbred lined derived from Heterogeneous stocks (RIHS) is an
extension of this idea (Valdar et al.
2006). The larger number of
parental accession included in this design, result in mapping lines with
higher allelic and phenotypic diversity than traditional RILs,
increasing the number of QTL that can be detected. Since RIHS can be grown repeatedly, data
for many traits can be accumulated, facilitating the study of trait
correlations, genotype by environmental interactions, and the genetic basis of
phenotypic plasticity. Thus, the RIHS proposed here will provide an important
tool for the study of the genetic basis of plant growth and yield under
multiple environments, which is key for the
improvement of crop varieties; and to improve our basic knowledge of plant
form, growth and development.
The panel
of RIHS will be made publicly available to the wide scientific community. Scientists
interested in genotyping this lines are encouraged to enter in contact with
us.
