Length of internode and spike: How do they contribute to plant height of wheat at an individual QTL level?

A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population with 302 lines derived from a cross of Weimai 8 × Luohan 2 was used to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for plant height (PH) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Possible genetic relationships between PH and PH components (PHC), including spike length (SL) and internode length from the first to the fourth node counted from the top, abbreviated as FIITL, SITL, TITL and FOITL, respectively, were evaluated at the QTL level. A QTL for PH was mapped using data on PH and on PH conditioned by PHC using the IciMapping V3.0 software. Conditional QTL mapping proved that, at the QTL level, SL contributed the least to PH, followed by FIITL and FOITL, while TITL had the strongest influence on PH, followed by SITL. These results indicate that the conditional QTL mapping method can be used to evaluate possible genetic relationships between PH and PHC, and that it can efficiently and precisely reveal counteracting QTL, which will enhance our understanding of the genetic basis of PH in wheat