Mapping of quantitative trait loci for carotenoid pigmentation in flower tepals of Asiatic hybrid lily

Flower pigmentation is one of the most important traits for ornamental plants. To clarify the genetic basis for carotenoid pigmentation in flower tepals of Asiatic hybrid lily (Lilium sp.), we evaluated the segregation of a tepal-carotenoid content among F1 plants derived from a cross between 'Montreux' (having a small amount of carotenoids) and 'Connecticut King' (having a large amount of carotenoids), and mapped genetic loci for the carotenoid pigmentation onto the molecular linkage maps of 'Montreux' and 'Connecticut King' that we constructed previously. The tepal-carotenoid content among the F1 plants showed continuous segregation, indicating that several genes are associated with this trait. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis identified one QTL, qCARmon6, on the sixth linkage group of the 'Montreux' map. qCARmon6 explained 58.2% of the total phenotypic variation, that is, this locus had a large effect on the carotenoid accumulation. The result that qCARmon6 was mapped on the linkage group of 'Montreux' which has a small amount of carotenoid pigments in tepals indicates that this locus has a dominant negative effect on carotenoid pigmentation.