大麦饲用性状的好坏直接关系到动物的表现，它决定了饲料向动物产品转化的效率。目前人们对饲用性状研究不多，因此蒙大拿州立大学的Lisa Surber和其他研究人员开展了一项名为“大麦中饲用性状相关数量性状位点的确定”的研究，这项工作发表在Springer link旗下的杂志上。
研究人员对饲用品质特征的变化进行了评估，确定了相关的数量性状位点（QTLs），并判断这些性状的变化是否具有可遗传性。结果表明，在过去两年的试验中灌溉条件下的Steptoe x Morex双单倍体大麦的图谱群体呈上升趋势。他们还研究了开花和高产两个阶段的品质性状，分别在两个阶段鉴定出了32 QTLs和10 QTLs。研究发现开花阶段饲用性状的遗传性较高或一般，而高产阶段性状的遗传性较低，这表明饲用性状的选择宜在作物发育早期进行。实验中鉴定出的QTLs将用于饲用性状的标记辅助选择。
推荐原文出处：
Molecular Breeding DOI:10.1007/s11032-010-9473-6
Mapping quantitative trait loci controlling variation in forage quality traits in barley
Lisa Surber1, Hussein Abdel-Haleem2, 3 , Jack Martin2, Pat Hensleigh2, Dennis Cash1, Jan Bowman1 and Tom Blake2
(1) Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
(2) Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
(3) Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, 111 Riverbend Rd, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Barley forage quality has a direct relationship to animal performance, but forage quality traits are often neglected or not accessible to the plant breeders. Doubled haploid lines (145) from the cross Steptoe × Morex were grown in 2 years of trails under irrigated conditions to evaluate the variation in forage quality characteristics, identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for these traits and determine if variation in forage quality characteristics among barley lines is heritable. Forage quality traits were determined at plant anthesis and at peak forage yield stages. A total of 32 QTL were identified that conditioned forage traits at anthesis stage, and 10 QTLs were identified at peak forage yield. At anthesis, forage traits were highly to moderate heritablely, while at peak forage yield, all traits were weakly heritable, indicating that selection progress for these traits will be effective at early stages of maturity. This research has identified and mapped QTL for barley forage quality and will allow deployment of genes for improved forage quality via marker-assisted selection.
