Mapping QTLs related to Zn and Fe concentrations in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain using microsatellite markers

Mineral nutrient malnutrition, particularly deficiency in zinc and iron, afflicts over 3 billion people worldwide. Biofortification of food crops is the best approach for conciliating the micronutrient deficiencies. Understanding the genetic basis of their accumulation is the preconditions for enhancing of these micronutrients. In our study, a mapping population of a set of 118 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from a cross between an Iranian local variety ‘‘Tabassi’’, and a European elite variety ‘‘Taifun’’ were analyzed for grain iron and zinc contents . The grains of the RILs population were measured for Fe and Zn concentrations using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The grain Fe and Zn concentrations in the RILs population ranged from 9.65 to 71.4 and 44.35 to 95.6 mg/kg, respectively. An available linkage map, comprising of 205 simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers and three morphological loci as well, comprising 26 linkage groups, was used for mapping QTLs of interest. For the grain Fe concentration, six significant QTL (LOD≥2.5) were detected on chromosomes 2A, 3D, 4D, 7B, and 7D explaining 29.1% of the phenotypic variations of the trait. For the grain Zn concentration, two significant QTL was detected on chromosomes 1A and 4A explaining 51.45% of the phenotypic variations of the trait.