A locus for sodium exclusion (Nax1), a trait for salt tolerance, mapped in durum wheat

Megan P. Lindsay; Evans S. Lagudah; Ray A. Hare; Rana Munns

doi:10.1071/FP04111

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Previous Next Contents Vol 31(11)

A locus for sodium exclusion (Nax1), a trait for salt tolerance, mapped in durum wheat

Megan P. Lindsay ^A , Evans S. Lagudah ^A , Ray A. Hare ^B and Rana Munns ^A ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

^B NSW Agriculture, RMB 944, Tamworth, NSW 2340, Australia.

^C Corresponding author. Email: rana.munns@csiro.au

Functional Plant Biology 31(11) 1105-1114 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP04111
Submitted: 24 June 2004 Accepted: 17 September 2004 Published: 18 November 2004

Abstract

Salinity affects durum wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum (Desf.)] more than it affects bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and results in lower yield for durum wheat cultivars grown on salt-affected soils. A novel source of salt tolerance in the form of a sodium exclusion trait, identified previously in a screen of tetraploid wheat germplasm, was mapped using a QTL approach. The trait, measured as low Na⁺ concentration in the leaf blade, was mapped on a population derived from a cross between the low Na⁺ landrace and the cultivar Tamaroi. The use of AFLP, RFLP and microsatellite markers identified a locus, named Nax1 (Na exclusion), on chromosome 2AL, which accounted for approximately 38% of the phenotypic variation in the mapping population. Markers linked to the Nax1 locus also associated closely with low Na⁺ progeny in a genetically unrelated population. A microsatellite marker closely linked to the Nax1 locus was validated in genetically diverse backgrounds, and proven to be useful for marker-assisted selection in a durum wheat breeding program.

Keywords: microsatellite marker, salinity, QTL.

Acknowledgments

We thank Richard James for developing germplasm stocks and breeding lines and for the phenotype data for the Tamaroi × Line 149 cross, Shazia Husain for the phenotype data and DNA from the Line 141 × Line 149 cross, and Lorraine Mason for Na⁺ analyses by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The study was funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

References

Dubcovsky J, Santa Maria G, Epstein E, Luo MC, Dvořák J (1996) Mapping of the K+ / Na+ discrimination locus Kna1 in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 2, 448–454. (validated 5 October 2004)

Flowers TJ, Koyama ML, Flowers SA, Sudhakar C, Singh KP, Yeo AR (2000) QTL: their place in engineering salt tolerance of rice to salinity. Journal of Experimental Botany 51, 99–106.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | (validated 5 October 2004)

Harker N, Rampling LR, Shariflou MR, Hayden MJ, Holton TA, Morell MK, Sharp PJ, Henry RJ, Edwards KJ (2001) Microsatellites as markers for Australian wheat improvement. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 1121–1130.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | (validated 5 October 2004)

Pitman, MG , and Läuchli, A (2002). Global impacts of salinity and agricultural ecosystems. In ‘Salinity: environment–plants–molecules’. pp. 3–20. (Kluwer Academic: Dordrecht)

Quesada V, Garcia-Martinez S, Piqueras P, Ponse MR, Micol JL (2002) Genetic architecture of NaCl tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 130, 951–963.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Rawson HM, Richards RA, Munns R (1988) An examination of selection criteria for salt tolerance in wheat, barley and triticale. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 39, 759–772.
| Crossref |

Rengasamy P (2002) Transient salinity and subsoil constraints to dryland farming in Australian sodic soils: an overview. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 42, 351–361.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Roder MS, Korzun V, Wendehake K, Plaschke J, Tixier M-H, Leroy P, Ganal MW (1998) A microsatellite map of wheat. Genetics 149, 2007–2023.
| PubMed |

Sambrook, J , Fritsch, EF , and Maniatis, T (1989). ‘Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual.’ 2nd edn . (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor)

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

Tester M, Davenport R (2003) Na+ tolerance and Na+ transport in higher plants. Annals of Botany 91, 503–527.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Vos P, Hogers R, Bleeker M, Reijans M, van de Lee T , et al. (1995) AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting. Nucleic Acids Research 23, 4407–4414.
| PubMed |