Inheritance and mapping of a yellow leaf mutant of carrot (Daucus carota)

A yellow leaf mutant at a locus named YEL was selected in a population of the cultivated carrot. Genetic analysis of segregating F2 progenies and corresponding F3 families, indicates that the phenotype expressed is controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. The mutant is stably inherited and is associated with a reduced leaf-biomass of approximately 30% compared with the wild-type. Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were developed and used in bulked segregant analysis. Seventeen marker candidates were detected by using 45 primer pairs. Ten of these could be linked with the YEL locus and mapped in a linkage group with a total length of 33.2 cM. Application of the yellow leaf mutant in carrot research is discussed.