Fine mapping of leaf delayed virescence gene dv4 in Triticum aestivum

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide, and its yield affects national food security. Wheat leaves are key photosynthetic organs where carbohydrates are synthesized for grain yield. Leaf colour mutants are ideal germplasm resources for molecular genetic studies of wheat chloroplast development, chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis. We obtained a wheat mutant delayed virescence 4 (dv4) from cultivar Guomai 301. The leaves of mutant dv4 were pale yellow at the seedling stage, golden yellow at the turning green stage, and they started to turn green at the jointing stage. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the yellow-leaf phenotype was controlled by a single recessive gene named as dv4. Gene dv4 was fine mapped in a 1.46 Mb region on chromosome 7DS by SSR and dCAPS marker assays. Three putative candidate genes were identified in this region. Because no leaf colour genes have been reported on wheat chromosome arm 7DS previously, dv4 is a novel leaf colour gene. The result facilitates map-based cloning of dv4 and provides information for the construction of a high-photosynthetic efficiency ideotype for improving wheat yield.