Mapping Freeze Tolerance Quantitative Trait Loci in a Citrus grandis × Poncirus trifoliata F1 Pseudo-testcross Using Molecular Markers

Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with freeze tolerance was accomplished using a Citrus grandis (L.) Osb. × Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. F(1) pseudo-testcross population. A progeny population of 442 plants was acclimated and exposed to temperatures of -9 ÂC and -15 ÂC in two separate freeze tests. A subpopulation of 99 progeny was genotyped for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR), and sequence tagged site (STS) markers to produce a linkage map for each parent. Potential QTL were identified by interval mapping, and their validity was corroborated with results from means comparison (t test), one-way analysis of variance (F test), and bulked segregant analysis (BSA). Multiple analytical methods provided evidence supporting putative QTL and decreased the probability of missing significant QTL associated with freeze tolerance. QTL with a large effect on freeze tolerance were located on both the Citrus and Poncirus linkage maps. In addition, clusters of markers with significantly different means between marker present and absent classes indicating minor QTL that contribute smaller effects on the level of tolerance were found on the linkage maps of both species.