ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Identification and characterization of QTL for grain protein content derived from the D genome of allohexaploid wheat
Provisionally accepted
Xinghua LuoTianjiao Shao
Shanshan ZhaiXingao mengShidain Wen
Chaojie Xie
Mingshan You
Rongqi Liang
Zhongfu Ni
Qixin Sun
Zhang Runqi*
Li Baoyun*- China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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Identifying and utilizing major QTLs related to wheat grain protein content (GPC) is critical for the wheat quality improvement. However, the identification of genes regulating GPC remains relatively limited. In this study, a genetic population containing 198 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from a cross between common allohexaploid wheat cultivar TAA10 and synthetic allohexaploid wheat cultivar XX329 was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with GPC. Three major QTLs for GPC were detected on chromosomes 2D, 4D, and 7D (Qgpc.cau-2D, Qgpc.cau-4D, and Qgpc.cau-7D) respectively. Among them, QGpc.cau-2D located between markers Xbarc124 and 2S178,exhibited the largest additive effect and explained 4.70-17.97% of the phenotypic variation. Using progenies from the key residual heterozygous line124, QGpc.cau-2D was fine mapped to an approximately 4.2 Mb physical interval between the markers Xcau-2D541 and Xcau-2D781. According to the analysis of genes within the interval, TraesCS2D03G0079200, TraesCS2D03G0080700, TraesCS2D03G0081400, and TraesCS2D03G0088900 were predicted as putative candidate genes. These results provide a foundation for the cloning of candidate genes related to GPC and the genetic improvement of wheat quality.
Keywords: wheat, Grain protein content (GPC), QTL, fine mapping, Wheat quality
Received: 24 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Luo, Shao, Zhai, meng, Wen, Xie, You, Liang, Ni, Sun, Runqi and Baoyun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhang Runqi, zhangrunqi91@sina.com
Li Baoyun, baoyunli@cau.edu.cn
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