Table 1.
Summary of QTLs identified for drought tolerance-related traits in some major crop species
| Crop | Traits studied | Number of QTLs | Chromosome/linkage group | Phenotypic variation explained (PVE %) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | Grain yield | 1 (qtl12 .1) | 12 | 51.0 | Bernier et al. (2007, 2009) |
| Grain yield | 2 | 2, 3 | 13.0–31.0 | Venuprasad et al. (2009) | |
| Relative growth rate and specific water use | 7 | 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | 10.0–22.0 | Kato et al. (2008) | |
| Coleoptile length and drought resistance index | 15 | All except 3, 8, 11 | 4.9–22.7 | Song-ping et al. (2007) | |
| Basal root thickness and 100-grain weight | 2 | 4, 6 | 20.6–33.4 | Li-Feng et al. (2007) | |
| Grain yield and other agronomic traits | 77 | All except 12 | 7.5–55.7 | Lanceras et al. (2004) | |
| Root traits | 18 | All chromosomes | 1.2–18.5 | Ping et al. (2003) | |
| Root and related traits | 42 | All chromosomes | 6.0–24.4 | Courtois et al. (2003) | |
| Water stress indicators, phenology and production traits | 47 | All except 5 | 5.0–59.0 | Babu et al. (2003) | |
| Drought avoidance | 17 | All except 9 | 4.4–25.6 | Price et al. (2002b) | |
| Osmotic adjustment | 1 (OA 70) | 8 | Major | Lilley et al. (1996) | |
| Maize | Yield components and secondary traits | 81 | – | 0.1–17.9 | Messmer et al. (2009) |
| Grain yield and yield components | 20 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 | 4.1–31.3 | Xiao et al. (2005) | |
| Root characteristics, drought tolerance index and yield | 56 | All chromosomes | 6.7–47.2 | Tuberosa et al. (2002) | |
| Leaf ABA | 1 (L-ABA) | 2 (bin 1.03) | 32.0 | Tuberosa et al. (1998); Landi et al. (2005) | |
| Grain yield and yield components | 46 | All except 10 | 4.0–12.9 | Ribaut et al. (1997) | |
| Anthesis–silking interval | 6 | 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10 | 48 (total) | Ribaut et al. (1996) | |
| Wheat | Agronomic, phonological and physiological traits | 104 | 1A, 1B, 1D, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, UA-b | 11.2–33.5 | Pinto et al. (2010) |
| Morpho-physiological traits | 110 | All 14 chromosomes | 0.8–42.4 | Peleg et al. (2009) | |
| Grain yield and growth traits | 42 | 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A,3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7A and 7B | 3.4–53.9 | Maccaferri et al. (2008) | |
| Water-soluble carbohydrates and associated traits | 48 | All chromosomes except 2B, 3D, 4D, 5D, and 6D | 1.1–7.6 | Yang et al. (2007) | |
| Grain yield and yield components under drought | 1 | 4AL | 12.0–41.0 | Kirigwi et al. (2007) | |
| Yield and growth traits | 16 | 1B, 1D, 2B, 3A, 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 6D, 7A, 7B | – | Mathews et al. (2008) | |
| Stem reserves mobilization | 3 | 2D, 5D, 7D | 21.1–42.3 | Salem et al. (2007) | |
| Barley | Drought-related morphological and physiological traits | 18 | 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H | 14.3–57.5 | Chen et al. (2010) |
| Chlorophyll and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters | 5 | 1H, 2H, 4H, 6H, 7H | 6.2–13.6 | Guo et al. (2008) | |
| Yield and growth traits | 42 | All chromosomes | 6.5–36.9 | von Korff et al. (2008) | |
| Drought-related morphological and physiological traits | 68 | IH, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H | 4.0–16.0 | Diab et al. (2004) | |
| Yield and other agronomic traits | 74 | All chromosomes | 1.4–84.8 | Baum et al. (2003) | |
| Relative water content | 6 | 2H, 5H, 6H, 7H | 6.8–11.5 | Teulat et al. (2003) | |
| Grain carbon isotope discrimination | 10 | 2H, 3H, 6H, 7H | – | Teulat et al. (2002) | |
| Osmotic adjustment (OA) and related traits | 22 | 1H, 2H, 4H, 5H, 7H | 5.0–20.0 | Teulat et al. (2001a) | |
| Grain yield and agronomic traits | 56 | All chromosomes | 5.7–23.6 | Teulat et al.(2001b) | |
| Osmotic adjustment (OA) and related traits | 12 | 1H, 2H, 5H, 6H | 5.8–26.7 | Teulat et al. (1998) | |
| Sorghum | Stay green | 1 (Stg2) | A | 53.5 | Sanchez et al. (2002) |
| Stay green | 10 | A, C, D, E, G, H | 5.1–26.3 | Haussmann et al. (2002) | |
| Stay green | 9 | A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J | 9.9–22.6 | Kebede et al. (2001) | |
| Stay green | 8 | A, D, E, J | 9.1–32.6 | Subudhi et al. (2000) | |
| Stay green | 4 | A, D, J | 13.0–30.0 | Xu et al. (2000) | |
| Stay green | 5 | B, G, I | 10.7–14.1 | Tao et al. (2000) | |
| Stay green and maturity | 9 | A, B, D2, G, I1, I2, J | 7.7–47.5 | Crosta et al. (1999) | |
| Pearl millet | Grain yield and related traits | 20 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 11.6–57.2 | Bidinger et al. (2007) |
| Grain yield and other physiological traits | 46 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 | 8.4–57.2 | Yadav et al. (2002) | |
| Soybean | Yield and wilting | 6 | D2, F, F2 | – | Monteros et al. (2006) |
| Leaf wilting | 1 | K | 17.0 | Bhatnagar et al. (2005) | |
| Yield | 1 | C2 | 7.0 | Specht et al. (2001) | |
| Water use efficiency | 7 | L | 8.0–14.0 | Mian et al. (1998) | |
| Water use efficiency | 5 | G, H, J, C1 | 5.0–13.2 | Mian et al. 1996) | |
| Common bean | Yield and yield component traits | 49 | All except LG1 | 7.0–31.0 | Blair et al. (2012) |
| Yield and yield component traits | 9 | – | – | Schneider et al. (1997a) | |
| Tomato | Seed germination | 4 | 1, 8, 9, 12 | Major effects | Foolad et al. (2003) |
| Water use efficiency | 3 | Undetermined | – | Martin et al. (1989) | |
| Cotton | Productivity and physiological traits | 79 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25 | 1.7–23.7 | Saranga et al. (2004) |
| Productivity and physiological traits | 16 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 18, 22, 25 | 4.1–16.2 | Saranga et al. (2001) |