Construction of a genetic linkage map and QTL mapping of the agronomic traits in Foxtail millet (Setaria italica).

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the most ancient cultivated cereal crops and is ideal for the functional genomics of the Panicoideae crops. In the present study, we generated an F population consisting of 300 individuals by crossing an elite foxtail millet variety Jingu28 with a backbone line Ai88, and constructed a genetic linkage map with 213 published SSR markers and two InDel markers. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping identified 46 QTL for 12 agronomic traits, including 13 major effect QTL.