Detection of quantitative trait loci underlying yield-related traits in shiitake culinary-medicinal mushroom, Lentinus edodes (Agaricomycetes)

Increasing yield is a principal goal when breeding Lentinus edodes. The detection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) underlying yield and its related traits, precocity and the number of fruiting bodies (NFs), is important in order to breed high-yield cultivars. Using composite interval mapping (CIM), we mapped a total of 25 QTLs responsible for precocity, NFs, and yield in 2 segregating populations of L. edodes. QTLs for the 3 traits were mapped on 5 different linkage groups, contributing 5.9% to 15.4% of the phenotypic variation. Colocated QTLs were also found underlying multiple traits, implying the presence of a genic pleiotropic effect or tightly linked genes. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of the genetic dissection of precocity, NFs, and yield using QTL mapping in L. edodes. Findings of this study will facilitate marker-assisted breeding of high-yield cultivars of L. edodes.