Microsatellite markers-aided dissection of iron, zinc and cadmium accumulation potential in Triticum aestivum

Asima Rasheed; Javed Ahmad; Majid Nadeem; Muhammad Abdul Rehman Rashid; Farrukh Azeem

doi:10.7717/peerj.15229

Microsatellite markers-aided dissection of iron, zinc and cadmium accumulation potential in Triticum aestivum

PeerJ. 2023 Apr 17:11:e15229. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15229. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Asima Rasheed¹, Javed Ahmad², Majid Nadeem², Muhammad Abdul Rehman Rashid¹, Farrukh Azeem¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
² Wheat Research Institute, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

Abstract

Background: Wheat is a staple cereal food around the globe. It provides a significant source of proteins, carbohydrates, and other micronutrients to humans. When grown on cadmium (Cd) contaminated soils, the uptake of trace elements e.g., iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) has also been affected drastically that in turn affected the wheat grain.

Methods: In this study, wheat accessions were used to investigate the impact of soil application of Zn (5 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg) and Cd (0 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg) on accumulation of these elements in wheat grains. A total of 45 Fe, Zn, and Cd transporter-related genes were used to design 101 gene-specific SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers.

Results: In response to Cd stress, application of 20 mg/Kg Zn improved Fe (64.6 ug/g) and Zn (48.3 ug/g) accumulation in wheat grains as well as agronomic traits. Marker trait association revealed that SSR markers based on NAM-B1 gene (PR01 and PR02) were associated with Zn accumulation. Similarly, SSR markers based on TaVTL5-2B_5 (PR19 PR20), TaVTL5-2B_2 (PR25, PR26), TaVTL5-2D_3 (PR30), TaVTL2-2A (PR31), TaVTL1-6A (PR32), and TaVTL2-2D_1 (PR37) were significantly associated with Fe accumulation, while HMA3-5B1 (PR62) and TaNRAMP3-7D (PR89) were linked to Cd accumulation in grains. The highly associated markers may be used in marker-assisted selection of suitable wheat genotypes for breeding bio-fortified varieties with low Cd accumulation.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Biofortification; Cadmium; Gene specific primers; Iron; Marker assisted selection; SSR markers; Tassel; Wheat; Zinc.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cadmium* / metabolism
Edible Grain / metabolism
Humans
Iron / metabolism
Microsatellite Repeats / genetics
Plant Breeding
Triticum / genetics
Zinc* / metabolism

Substances

Zinc
Cadmium
Iron

Grants and funding

The current work was funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan under the NRPU research project No. 5595/Punjab/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2016 awarded to Farrukh Azeem. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.