Conditional QTL mapping for seed germination and seedling traits under salt stress and candidate gene prediction in wheat

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 21010
• Main Authors: Guo, Xin, Wu, Chongning, Wang, Dehua, Wang, Guanying, Jin, Kaituo, Zhao, Yingjie, Tian, Jichun, Deng, Zhiying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.12.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/208; 631/449; Abiotic stress; Chromosomes; Cultivation; Gene mapping; Germination - genetics; Grain cultivation; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inbreeding; Marker-assisted selection; multidisciplinary; New varieties; Phenotype; Phenotypic variations; Plant Breeding; Plant growth; Population genetics; Quantitative trait loci; Salinity tolerance; Salt tolerance; Salt Tolerance - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seed germination; Seedlings; Seedlings - genetics; Seeds; Triticum - genetics; Wheat
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25703-3

Breeding new wheat varieties with salt resistance is one of the best ways to solve a constraint on the sustainability and expansion of wheat cultivation. Therefore, understanding the molecular components or genes related to salt tolerance must contribute to the cultivation of salt-tolerant varieties. The present study used a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population to genetically dissect the effects of different salt stress concentrations on wheat seed germination and seedling traits using two quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping methods. A total of 31 unconditional and 11 conditional QTLs for salt tolerance were identified on 11 chromosomes explaining phenotypic variation (PVE) ranging from 2.01 to 65.76%. Of these, 15 major QTLs were found accounting for more than 10% PVE. QTL clusters were detected on chromosomes 2A and 3B in the marker intervals ‘wPt-8328 and wPt-2087’ and ‘wPt-666008 and wPt-3620’, respectively, involving more than one salt tolerance trait. QRdw3B and QSfw3B.2 were most consistent in two or more salt stress treatments. 16 candidate genes associated with salt tolerance were predicted in wheat. These results could be useful to improve salt tolerance by marker-assisted selection (MAS) and shed new light on understanding the genetic basis of salt tolerance in wheat.