QTL Mapping of Melampsora Leaf Rust Resistance and Yield Component Traits in the Salix F1 Hybrid Common Parent Population

The first step in trait introgression is to identify and assess novel sources of variation. For shrub willow (Salix) breeders, there is an abundance of understudied species within a genus that readily hybridizes. Breeding targets in shrub willow center on traits contributing to biomass yield for bioenergy. These include stem biomass, insect and pathogen resistance, and leaf architecture traits. More specifically, breeding for durable resistance to willow leaf rust (Melampsora spp.) is of particular importance as the pathogen can significantly reduce biomass yields in commercial production. The Salix F₁ hybrid common parent population (Salix F₁ HCP) was created to characterize the variation among eight species-hybrid families and map QTL for targeted traits. A female and male S. purpurea were used as common parents in crosses made to male S. suchowensis, S. viminalis, S. koriyanagi, and S. udensis and female S. viminalis, S. integra, S. suchowensis to produce eight families that were planted in field trials at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY and phenotyped. Using 16 previously described parental backcross linkage maps and two newly generated S. purpurea consensus maps, we identified 215 QTL across all eight families and in every parent. These included 15 leaf rust severity, 61 herbivory, 65 leaf architecture, and 74 yield component QTL, resulting in 50 unique overlapping regions within the population. These genetic loci serve as an important foundation for future shrub willow breeding, and each interspecific family was identified as a novel source of useful alleles for trait introgression into high yielding cultivars.