Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping for End‐Use Quality Traits in Hard Winter Wheat Under Contrasting Soil Moisture Levels

Abstract

Improved end‐use quality is an essential goal of many wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs. Besides genetic factors, environmental conditions are known to influence wheat quality. Our objective was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for quality traits in a winter wheat population under different soil moisture levels. A population of 185 doubled haploid (DH) lines was derived from a cross between hard white winter wheats CO940610 and ‘Platte’. The population was grown in four environments (two limited irrigation and two fully irrigated) in Colorado in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, and the grain was evaluated for 14 end‐use quality traits. A linkage map was constructed with 250 molecular markers, including five glutenin protein markers. Composite interval mapping detected clusters of QTL for multiple traits near the glutenin loci Glu‐A1, Glu‐B1, and Glu‐D1. Other QTL clusters were located on chromosomes 2B, 6A, 7B, and 7D; the 2B and 7D QTL may reflect the presence of heading date QTL in the same regions. An epistatic interaction for mixograph traits was found between the chromosome 7B QTL and Glu‐B1, consistent with the presence of a regulatory gene on 7B. An apparently novel QTL for kernel weight and diameter was detected on chromosome 3B. Our results confirm similar genetic control of quality traits, especially for large‐effect QTL, for the levels of moisture stress in this study. These results may guide breeding programs in choosing parents and conducting marker‐assisted selection for improved end‐use quality.

Genetics of End‐Use Quality Differences between a Modern and Historical Spring Wheat

“…The correlation between grain protein and flour protein in this study was r = 0.94. El-Feki et al (2013) showed that allelic differences at glutenin loci Glu-A1, Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 impacted several bread quality traits in a hard winter wheat cross. A similar impact of Rht-D1b was shown by McCartney et al (2006) in a cross between two Canadian spring wheat lines.…”

“…Several authors have reported a relationship between bread quality traits and agronomic traits in hard wheat crosses (El-Feki et al, 2013;McCartney et al, 2006). Quantitative trait loci for yield components have also been mapped in the McNeal/Thatcher population (Sherman et al, 2014).…”

“…In particular, the McNeal Gli-B1 allele was shown to cause low dough extensibility, which is deleterious for many bread-making processes (Nash et al, 2006). Similarly, El-Feki et al (2013) showed that Glu-B1 was involved in important epistatic interactions for end-use quality traits. Sherman et al (2014) showed that several alleles with positive effects on agronomic properties in a standard height (Rht-D1a) background had lesser or opposite effects in semidwarf (Rht-D1b) backgrounds for the McNeal/Thatcher population.…”

Complex G × E Interactions and QTL Clusters Govern End-Use Quality Traits in Hexaploid Wheat

“…For both LV and its potentially predictive parameters, many QTLs have been identifi ed; however, their consistent expression across environments is necessary for their effective use (Li et al 2012 ;El-Feki et al 2013 and references therein). We performed detailed GEI, correlation and QTL analyses of end-use quality traits in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of 105 individuals derived from a bread wheat cross HI977 × HD2329.…”

“…Composite Interval Mapping (CIM) determined QTLs on all the chromosomes of bread wheat for LV, GPC, SV and DRT (Li et al 2012 ;El-Feki et al 2013 ; references therein). In addition, QTL clusters mainly for GPC, SV and DRT (Li et al ) and for DRT and LV (Mann et al 2009 ;Tsilo et al 2011 ;Simons et al 2012 ) suggested that as the traits are correlated, they could be controlled by common QTLs.…”