Genetic Analysis of QTL for Resistance to Maize Lethal Necrosis in Multiple Mapping Populations.

Maize lethal necrosis (MLN) occurs when maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) co-infect maize plant. Yield loss of up to 100% can be experienced under severe infections. Identification and validation of genomic regions and their flanking markers can facilitate marker assisted breeding for resistance to MLN. To understand the status of previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL)in diverse genetic background, F progenies derived from seven bi-parental populations were genotyped using 500 selected kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) SNPs. The F progenies were evaluated under artificial MLN inoculation for three seasons. Phenotypic analyses revealed significant variability ( ≤ 0.01) among genotypes for responses to MLN infections, with high heritability estimates (0.62 to 0.82) for MLN disease severity and AUDPC values. Linkage mapping and joint linkage association mapping revealed at least seven major QTL ( and , and , and and ) spread across the 7-biparetal populations, for resistance to MLN infections and were consistent with those reported previously. The seven QTL appeared to be stable across genetic backgrounds and across environments. Therefore, these QTL could be useful for marker assisted breeding for resistance to MLN.