Molecular marker analysis of protein content using PCR-based markers in wheat

Grain protein concentration (GPC) of hexaploid wheat is one of the importan t factors that determines the end-product quality, as well as playing a piv otal role in human nutrition. In an attempt to identify PCR-based DIVA mark ers linked to GPC, 106 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were developed from a cross between two wheat cultivars PH132 and WL711, which differ significa ntly in GPC, by the single seed descent method. The RILs were phenotyped fo r GPC at two diverse agroclimatic locations, namely Pune and Ludhiana, to s tudy the influence of genotype and environment interactions on this trait. The parents were screened with 85 inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) prime rs and 350 random primers. The selective genotyping and whole population an alysis revealed nine DIVA markers associated with the trait. Three markers (UBC844(1100), UBC880(1100), and OPA4(800)) were observed to be associated with the trait in both locations, whereas two markers (OPH4(1400) and UBC87 3(750)) were found to be specific to Pune, and four markers (OPM5(870), OPO 10(870), OPV14(1200), and UBC825(1000)) were specific to Ludhiana. Together five markers at the Pune location representing five QTLs and seven markers at Ludhiana representing four QTLs accounted,for 13.4 and 13.5% of total p henotypic variation, respectively. This study clearly demonstrates that GPC is highly influenced by the environment, and the applicability of ISSR and RAPD markers in finding regions on chromosomes associated with quantitativ e characters in wheat such as GPC.