Genetic mapping of cuticle-associated genes in barley

The aerial surface of land plants is protected by a cuticle against abiotic and biotic stresses. A better understanding of the determinants of cuticle formation and function has the potential to contribute to the breeding of more drought tolerant and disease resistant crop varieties. Two doubled haploid (DH) mapping populations, Steptoe × Morex populations and OWB-dominant × recessive populations were exploited to genetically position homologs of a set of known cuticle-associated genes. These genes were also placed on a consensus map, BinMap2005, which includes 27 eceriferum (cer) loci. Of the 49 known cuticle-associated genes, 21 identified a homolog in barley, and of these, 14 were mapped. There was a complete linkage between HvCER6 and cer-zg, suggesting the possibility that HvCER6 is the candidate gene of CER-ZG. Positioning known cuticle-associated genes on a consensus map containing cuticle mutant loci may guide the selection of candidate genes for cuticle mutants, and thus facilitate the isolation of cuticle-associated genes in barley.