Nutritional Genomic Approach for Improving Grain Protein Content in Wheat

• Published in: Foods Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 1399
• Main Authors: Kartseva, Tania, Alqudah, Ahmad M., Aleksandrov, Vladimir, Alomari, Dalia Z., Doneva, Dilyana, Arif, Mian Abdur Rehman, Börner, Andreas, Misheva, Svetlana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Algorithms; Amino acids; association mapping; Biosynthesis; Bread; bread wheat; candidate genes; Cellulose; Chromosomes; Crops; Dietary minerals; Fatty acids; flour; Food science; Food security; Gene polymorphism; Genes; Genetic engineering; Genetic improvement; Genome-wide association studies; genome-wide association study; Genomes; Genomics; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; germplasm; Grain; grain protein; grain proteins; grain quality; Homeostasis; Linkage disequilibrium; Malnutrition; Mathematical analysis; Metal ions; micronutrients; Nitrogen; Nucleotides; Nutrient content; Nutritional aspects; Nutritive value; phenotype; phenotypic variation; Phenotypic variations; Phylogenetics; Polymorphism; Population; Post-translation; probability; protein content; Protein transport; Proteins; Seasons; Seeds; Serine proteinase; serine proteinases; single nucleotide polymorphism arrays; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; starch; Structural proteins; Subtilisin; Transcription factors; Triticum aestivum; Wheat; Bulgaria; Germany; grain proteins; micronutrients; association mapping; bread wheat; candidate genes
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12071399

Grain protein content (GPC) is a key aspect of grain quality, a major determinant of the flour functional properties and grain nutritional value of bread wheat. Exploiting diverse germplasms to identify genes for improving crop performance and grain nutritional quality is needed to enhance food security. Here, we evaluated GPC in a panel of 255 Triticum aestivum L. accessions from 27 countries. GPC determined in seeds from three consecutive crop seasons varied from 8.6 to 16.4% (11.3% on average). Significant natural phenotypic variation in GPC among genotypes and seasons was detected. The population was evaluated for the presence of the trait-linked single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers via a genome-wide association study (GWAS). GWAS analysis conducted with calculated best linear unbiased estimates (BLUEs) of phenotypic data and 90 K SNP array using the fixed and random model circulating probability unification (FarmCPU) model identified seven significant genomic regions harboring GPC-associated markers on chromosomes 1D, 3A, 3B, 3D, 4B and 5A, of which those on 3A and 3B shared associated SNPs with at least one crop season. The verified SNP–GPC associations provide new promising genomic signals on 3A (SNPs: Excalibur_c13709_2568 and wsnp_Ku_c7811_13387117) and 3B (SNP: BS00062734_51) underlying protein improvement in wheat. Based on the linkage disequilibrium for significant SNPs, the most relevant candidate genes within a 4 Mbp-window included genes encoding a subtilisin-like serine protease; amino acid transporters; transcription factors; proteins with post-translational regulatory functions; metabolic proteins involved in the starch, cellulose and fatty acid biosynthesis; protective and structural proteins, and proteins associated with metal ions transport or homeostasis. The availability of molecular markers within or adjacent to the sequences of the detected candidate genes might assist a breeding strategy based on functional markers to improve genetic gains for GPC and nutritional quality in wheat.