LAUSR

Amylose concentration in barley grain is one of the important quality traits. In this study, a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for grain amylose content was identified from a doubled haploid (DH) population. This QTL was also detected from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using 185 diverse barley germplasm. The waxy (GBSS1) gene was located in the QTL region and could be a candidate gene. Subsequent characterization of waxy alleles of two parents of the DH population revealed that a 191-bp insertion in the region from the transcription start site to start codon is responsible for the reduction of waxy transcript, leading to a lower expression level, thus, a lower amylose content. A genetic marker was designed for the waxy allele and can be effectively used in barley breeding programs.