Background: Combining ability effects are very effective genetic parameters in deciding the next phase of breeding programs. Although some breeding strategies on the basis of evaluating combining ability have been utilized extensively in hybrid breeding, little is known about the genetic basis of combining ability. Combining ability is a complex trait that is controlled by polygenes. With the advent and development of molecular markers, it is feasible to evaluate the genetic bases of combining ability and heterosis of elite rice hybrids through QTL analysis.
Methodology/principal findings: In the present study, we first developed a QTL-mapping method for dissecting combining ability and heterosis of agronomic traits. With three testcross populations and a BCRIL population in rice, biometric and QTL analyses were conducted for ten agronomic traits. The significance of general combining ability and special combining ability for most of the traits indicated the importance of both additive and non-additive effects on expression levels. A large number of additive effect QTLs associated with performance per se of BCRIL and general combining ability, and dominant effect QTLs associated with special combining ability and heterosis were identified for the ten traits.
Conclusions/significance: The combining ability of agronomic traits could be analyzed by the QTL mapping method. The characteristics revealed by the QTLs for combining ability of agronomic traits were similar with those by multitudinous QTLs for agronomic traits with performance per se of BCRIL. Several QTLs (1-6 in this study) were identified for each trait for combining ability. It demonstrated that some of the QTLs were pleiotropic or linked tightly with each other. The identification of QTLs responsible for combining ability and heterosis in the present study provides valuable information for dissecting genetic basis of combining ability.