Detection of genomic loci associated with days to heading in tropical japonica rice through QTL-seq

This study investigated the genetic basis of days to heading (DTH) in tropical japonica rice using F₂ populations derived from late-maturing Rojolele and early-maturing Rojolele Srinuk varieties. Phenotypic analysis of DTH showed continuous distribution and positive skewness. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) derived single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from early and late-heading bulks were used to identify three candidate regions with strong association to DTH: <i>qDTH3.1</i> and <i>qDTH3.2</i> on chromosome 3, and <i>qDTH7.1</i> on chromosome 7, with the latter linked to the <i>Oryza sativa Pseudo-Response Regulator 37</i> (<i>OsPRR37</i>) gene. InDel markers validated <i>qDTH7.1</i>’s significant linkage to DTH, particularly marker ID14, which is effective for marker-assisted selection of early DTH in Rojolele background.Â