Register      Login
Crop and Pasture Science Crop and Pasture Science Society
Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Prioritisation of candidate genes in QTL regions for seed germination and early seedling growth in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) under salt-stress conditions

Elham Rezaei A , Eslam Majidi Hervan A , Amin Azadi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2139-1691 B E , Alireza Etminan C and Hossein Ramshini D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

B Department of Plant Breeding, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

C Department of Plant Breeding, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.

D Departments of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Iran.

E Corresponding author. Email: azadi.amin@gmail.com.

Crop and Pasture Science 72(1) 1-16 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP20319
Submitted: 2 September 2020  Accepted: 17 November 2020   Published: 27 January 2021

Abstract

Salinity and drought are major abiotic stresses affecting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production throughout the world, and discovery of loci for traits affecting yield under salinity may lead to the breeding for salt-tolerant plants. In the present study, 186 F10 recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations were evaluated under salt-stress conditions in order to identify main-effect and epistatic-effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 15 traits in wheat during the germination and early-seedling stages. In total, 61 main-effect QTLs on 15 chromosomes and 21 epistatic interactions on 12 chromosomes were detected through composite interval mapping (CIM) and a mixed-model-based CIM method. Two major QTLs for primary-leaf fresh weight and coleoptile fresh weight were detected on chromosome (or linkage group) 5B2 and 2D, respectively, which contributed ~44% and 43% of the phenotypic variance. Additionally, 12 QTL clusters including different traits were detected on 1A1, 3A, 4A, 2B1, 3B, 5B1 and 2D1. Candidate genes were identified within QTL regions and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis was performed. In total, 9134 candidate genes were grouped into 274 GO terms (including 79 GO terms involved in the ‘biological process’ category). These genes directly or indirectly play a vital role such as lipid localisation, biological regulation, fatty acid biosynthetic process, cellular process, DNA conformation change, translational elongation, carbohydrate metabolic process, Fe ion homeostasis, hydrogen peroxide metabolic process, and pigment biosynthetic process at the germination and early-seedling stages under salt-stress conditions.

Keywords: bread wheat, candidate gene, early seedling, germination, QTL mapping, salt-stress.


References

Azadi A, Majidi Hervan E, Mohammadi SA, Moradi F, Nakhoda B, Vahabzade M, Mardi M (2011) Screening of recombinant inbred lines for salinity tolerance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). African Journal of Biotechnology 10, 12875–12881.
Screening of recombinant inbred lines for salinity tolerance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Azadi A, Mardi M, Majidi Hervan E, Mohammadi AS, Moradi F, Tabatabaee MT, Pirseyedi SM, Ebrahimi M, Fayaz F, Kazemi M, Ashkani S, Nakhoda B, Mohammadi-Nejad GH (2015) QTL mapping of yield and yield components under normal and salt-stress conditions in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 33, 102–120.
QTL mapping of yield and yield components under normal and salt-stress conditions in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Aznar-Fernández T, Barilli E, Cobos MJ, Kilian A, Carling J, Rubiales D (2020) Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling resistance to pea weevil (Bruchus pisorum) in a high-density integrated DArTseq SNP-based genetic map of pea. Scientific Reports 10, 33
Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling resistance to pea weevil (Bruchus pisorum) in a high-density integrated DArTseq SNP-based genetic map of pea.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 31913335PubMed |

Bennett MD, Smith JB (1976) Nuclear DNA amounts in angiosperms. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 274, 227–274.
Nuclear DNA amounts in angiosperms.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Bybordi A (2010) The influence of salt stress on seed germination, growth and yield of canola cultivars. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca 38, 128–133.

Czyczyło-Mysza I, Marcińska I, Skrzypek E, Cyganek K, Juzoń K, Karbarz M (2014) QTL mapping for germination of seeds obtained from previous wheat generation under drought. Central European Journal of Biology 9, 374–382.

Dehdari A, Rezai A, Mirmohammady Maibody SM (2005) Salt tolerance of seedling and adult bread wheat plants based on ion contents and agronomic traits. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 36, 2239–2253.
Salt tolerance of seedling and adult bread wheat plants based on ion contents and agronomic traits.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Flowers TJ, Yeo AR (1995) Breeding for salinity resistance in crop plants: where next? Functional Plant Biology 22, 875–884.
Breeding for salinity resistance in crop plants: where next?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ghaedrahmati M, Mardi M, Naghavi MR, Majidi Haravan E, Nakhoda B, Azadi A, Kazemi M (2014) Mapping QTLs associated with salt tolerance related traits in seedling stage of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology 16, 1413–1428. https://jast.modares.ac.ir/article-23-5467-en.html

Gorham J, Hardy C, Wyn Jones RG, Joppa LR, Law CN (1987) Chromosomal location of a K/Na discrimination character in the D genome of wheat. Theoretical & Applied Genetics 74, 584–588.
Chromosomal location of a K/Na discrimination character in the D genome of wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Gorham J, Wyn Jones RG, Bristol A (1990) Partial characterization of the trait for enhanced K/Na discrimination in the D genome of wheat. Planta 180, 590–597.
Partial characterization of the trait for enhanced K/Na discrimination in the D genome of wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24202105PubMed |

Goyal E, Amit SK, Singh RS, Mahato AK, Chand S, Kanika K (2016) Transcriptome profiling of the salt-stress response in Triticum aestivum cv. Kharchia Local. Scientific Reports 6, 27752
Transcriptome profiling of the salt-stress response in Triticum aestivum cv. Kharchia Local.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 27293111PubMed |

Gudys K, Guzy-Wrobelska J, Janiak A, Dziurka MA, Ostrowska A, Hura K, Jurczyk B, Żmuda K, Grzybkowska D, Śróbka J (2018) Prioritization of candidate genes in QTL regions for physiological and biochemical traits underlying drought response in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Frontiers in Plant Science 9, 769
Prioritization of candidate genes in QTL regions for physiological and biochemical traits underlying drought response in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 29946328PubMed |

Hakim MA, Juraimi AS, Begum M, Hanafi MM, Ismail MR, Salamat A (2010) Effect of salt stress on germination and early seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.). African Journal of Biotechnology 9, 1911–1918.
Effect of salt stress on germination and early seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Heenan DP, Lewin LG, McCaffery DW (1988) Salinity tolerance in rice varieties at different growth stages. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 28, 343–349.
Salinity tolerance in rice varieties at different growth stages.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Heidari B, Ebrahim Sayed-Tabatabaei B, Saeidi G, Kearsey M, Suenaga K (2011) Mapping QTL for grain yield, yield components, and spike features in a doubled haploid population of bread wheat. Genome 54, 517–527.
Mapping QTL for grain yield, yield components, and spike features in a doubled haploid population of bread wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 21635161PubMed |

Heydari N (2019) Water productivity improvement under salinity conditions: case study of the saline areas of lower Karkheh River basin, Iran. In ‘Multifunctionality and impacts of organic and conventional agriculture’. Ch. 10. (Ed. Jan Moudrý) (IntechOpen: London) https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86891

International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium (2012) A physical, genetic and functional sequence assembly of the barley genome. Nature 491, 711–716.
A physical, genetic and functional sequence assembly of the barley genome.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23075845PubMed |

Lindsay MP, Lagudah ES, Hare RE, Munns R (2004) A locus for sodium exclusion (Nax1), a trait for salt tolerance, mapped in durum wheat. Functional Plant Biology 31, 1105–1114.
A locus for sodium exclusion (Nax1), a trait for salt tolerance, mapped in durum wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 32688978PubMed |

Ma L, Zhou E, Huo N, Zhou R, Wang G, Jia J (2007) Genetic analysis of salt tolerance in a recombinant inbred population of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Euphytica 153, 109–117.
Genetic analysis of salt tolerance in a recombinant inbred population of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Mano Y, Takeda K (1997) Mapping quantitative trait loci for salt tolerance at germination and the seedling stage in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Euphytica 94, 263–272.
Mapping quantitative trait loci for salt tolerance at germination and the seedling stage in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Munns R, Tester M (2008) Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annual Review of Plant Biology 59, 651–681.
Mechanisms of salinity tolerance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18444910PubMed |

Munns R, Husain SH, Rivelli AR, James RA, Condon AG, Lindsay MP, Lagudah ES, Schachtman DP, Hare RA (2002) Avenues for increasing salt tolerance of crops, and the role of physiologically based selection traits. Plant and Soil 247, 93–105.
Avenues for increasing salt tolerance of crops, and the role of physiologically based selection traits.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Parida AK, Das AB (2005) Salt tolerance and salinity effects on plants: a review. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 60, 324–349.
Salt tolerance and salinity effects on plants: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 15590011PubMed |

Pitman MG, Läuchli A (2002) Global impact of salinity and agricultural ecosystems. In ‘Salinity: environment–plants–molecules’ (Eds A Läuchli, U Lüttge) pp. 3–20. (Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands)

Poustini K, Siosemardeh A (2004) Ion distribution in wheat cultivars in response to salinity stress. Field Crops Research 85, 125–133.
Ion distribution in wheat cultivars in response to salinity stress.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Rahimi L, Amanipoor H, Battaleb-looie S (2019) Effect of salinity of irrigation water on soil properties (abadan plain, SW Iran). Geocarto International 19, 1–20.
Effect of salinity of irrigation water on soil properties (abadan plain, SW Iran).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Rebetzke GJ, Ellis MH, Bonnett DG, Richards RA (2007) Molecular mapping of genes for coleoptile growth in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 114, 1173–1183.
Molecular mapping of genes for coleoptile growth in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 17294164PubMed |

Rehman Arif M. A, Attaria F, Shokat S, Akram S, Qandeel Waheed M, Arif A, Börner A (2020) Mapping of QTLs associated with yield and yield related traits in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) under irrigated and drought conditions. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21, 2372
Mapping of QTLs associated with yield and yield related traits in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) under irrigated and drought conditions.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ren Y, Xu Y, Teng W, Li B, Lin T (2018) QTLs for seedling traits under salinity stress in hexaploid wheat. Ciência Rural 48, e20170446
QTLs for seedling traits under salinity stress in hexaploid wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Salvi S, Tuberosa R (2015) The crop QTLome comes of age. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 32, 179–185.
The crop QTLome comes of age.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 25614069PubMed |

Shan SH, Gorham J, Forster BP, Wyn Jones RG (1987) Salt tolerance in the Triticeae: the contribution of the D genome to cation selectivity in hexaploid wheat. Journal of Experimental Botany 38, 254–269.
Salt tolerance in the Triticeae: the contribution of the D genome to cation selectivity in hexaploid wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tian T, Liu Y, Yan H, You Q, Yi X, Du Z, Xu W, Su ZH (2017) agriGO v2. 0: a GO analysis toolkit for the agricultural community, 2017 update. Nucleic Acids Research 45, W122–W129.
agriGO v2. 0: a GO analysis toolkit for the agricultural community, 2017 update.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 28472432PubMed |

Veldboom LR, Lee M, Woodman WL (1994) Molecular marker-facilitated studies in an elite maize population: I. Linkage analysis and determination of QTL for morphological traits. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 88, 7–16.
Molecular marker-facilitated studies in an elite maize population: I. Linkage analysis and determination of QTL for morphological traits.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24185875PubMed |

Voorrips RE (2002) MapChart: software for the graphical presentation of linkage maps and QTLs. The Journal of Heredity 93, 77–78.
MapChart: software for the graphical presentation of linkage maps and QTLs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 12011185PubMed |

Wang S, Basten CJ, Zeng ZB (2007) ‘Windows QTL Cartographer 2.5.’ (Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University: Raleigh, NC, USA)

Wyn Jones RG, Gorham J, McDonnell E (1984) Organic and inorganic solute contents as selection criteria for salt tolerance in the Triticeae. In ‘Salinity tolerance in plants: strategies of crop improvement’. (Eds RC Staples, GH Toenniessen) pp. 189–203. (Wiley: New York, USA) https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10025925434/en/

Xu YF, An DG, Liu DC, Zhang AM, Xu HX, Li B (2012) Mapping QTLs with epistatic effects and QTL × treatment interactions for salt tolerance at seedling stage of wheat. Euphytica 186, 233–245.
Mapping QTLs with epistatic effects and QTL × treatment interactions for salt tolerance at seedling stage of wheat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Yang J, Hu C, Hu H, Yu R, Xia Z, Ye X, Zhu J (2008) QTLNetwork: mapping and visualizing genetic architecture of complex traits in experimental populations. Bioinformatics 24, 721–723.
QTLNetwork: mapping and visualizing genetic architecture of complex traits in experimental populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 18202029PubMed |

Zeng Z-B (1994) Precision mapping of quantitative trait loci. Genetics 136, 1457–1468.

Zhang ZB, Xu P, Jia J, Zhou RH (2010) Quantitative trait loci for leaf chlorophyll fluorescence traits in wheat. Australian Journal of Crop Science 4, 571

Zhang H, Cui FA, Wang L, Li J, Ding A, Zhao C, Bao Y, Yang Q, Wang H (2013) Conditional and unconditional QTL mapping of drought-tolerance-related traits of wheat seedling using two related RIL populations. Journal of Genetics 92, 213–231.
Conditional and unconditional QTL mapping of drought-tolerance-related traits of wheat seedling using two related RIL populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23970077PubMed |