QTL analysis of potato tuberization

Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting tuberization were detected in reciprocal backcrosses between Solanum tuberosum and S. berthaultii. Linkage analyses were performed between traits and RFLP alleles segregating from both the hybrid and the recurrent parent using a set of framework markers from the potato map. Eleven distinct loci on seven chromosomes were associated with variation in tuberization. Most of the loci had small effects, but a QTL explaining 27% of the variance was found on chromosome 5. More QTLs were detected while following alleles segregating from the recurrent S. tuberosum parent used to make the backcross than were detected by following alleles segregating from the hybrid parent. More than half of the alleles favoring tuberization were at least partly dominant. Tuberization was favored by an allele from S. berthaultii at 3 of the 5 QTLs detected by segregation from the hybrid parent. The additive effects of the QTLs for tuberization explained up to 53% of the phenotypic variance, and inclusion of epistatic effects increased this figure to 60%. The most common form of epistasis was that in which presence of an allele at each of 2 loci favoring tuberization was no more effective than the presence of a favorable allele at 1 of the 2 loci. The QTLs detected for tuberization traits are discussed in relationship to those previously detected for trichome-mediated insect resistance derived from the unadapted wild species.