Genetic architecture of ecological divergence between two wild rice
species (Oryza rufipogon and O. nivara)
Abstract
Ecological divergence due to habitat difference plays a prominent role
in the formation of new species but the genetic architecture during
ecological speciation and the mechanism underlying phenotypic divergence
remain less understood. Two wild rice species (O. rufipogon and O.
nivara) are a progenitor-derivative species pair with ecological
divergence and provide a unique system for studying ecological
adaptation/speciation. Here, we constructed a high-resolved linkage map
and conducted a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of 19 phenotypic
traits using an F2 population generated from a cross between the two
wild rice species. We identified 113 QTLs associated with interspecific
divergence of 16 quantitative traits, with effect sizes ranging from
1.61% to 34.1% in terms of the percentage of variation explained
(PVE). The distribution of effect sizes of QTLs followed a negative
exponential, suggesting that a few genes of large effect and many genes
of small effect were responsible for the phenotypic divergence. We
observed 18 clusters of QTLs (QTL hotspots) on 11 chromosomes,
significantly more than that expected by chance, demonstrating the
importance of coinheritance of loci/genes in ecological
adaptation/speciation. Analysis of effect direction and v-test
statistics revealed that interspecific differentiation of most traits
was driven by divergent natural selection, supporting the argument that
ecological adaptation/speciation would proceed rapidly under coordinated
selection on multiple traits. Our findings provide new insights into the
understanding of genetic architecture of ecological adaptation and
speciation in plants and helps effective manipulation of specific genes
or gene cluster in rice breeding.