QTL mapping of winter dormancy and associated traits in two switchgrass pseudo-F1 populations: lowland x lowland and lowland x upland

Abstract Background Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) undergoes winter dormancy by sensing photoperiod and temperature changes. It transitions to winter dormancy in early fall following at the end of reproduction and exits dormancy in the spring. The duration of the growing season affects the accumulation of biomass and yield. In this study, we conducted QTL mapping of winter dormancy measured by fall regrowth height (FRH) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), spring emergence (SE), and flowering date (FD) in two bi-parental pseudo-F1 populations derived from crosses between the lowland AP13 with the lowland B6 (AB) with 285 progenies, and the lowland B6 with the upland VS16 (BV) with 227 progenies. Results We identified 18 QTLs for FRH, 18 QTLs for NDVI, 21 QTLs for SE, and 30 QTLs for FD. The percent variance explained by these QTLs ranged between 4.21–23.27% for FRH, 4.47–24.06% for NDVI, 4.35–32.77% for SE, and 4.61–29.74% for FD. A higher number of QTL was discovered in the BV population, suggesting more variants in the lowland x upland population contributing to the expression of seasonal dormancy underlying traits. We identified 9 regions of colocalized QTL with possible pleiotropic gene action. The positive correlation between FRH or NDVI with dry biomass weight suggests that winter dormancy duration could affect switchgrass biomass yield. The medium to high heritability levels of FRH (0.55–0.64 H2) and NDVI (0.30–0.61 H2) implies the possibility of using the traits for indirect selection for biomass yield. Conclusion Markers found within the significant QTL interval can serve as genomic resources for breeding non-dormant and semi-dormant switchgrass cultivars for the southern regions, where growers can benefit from the longer production season.