Molecular marker analysis of kernel size and shape in bread wheat

The economic value of wheat grain is determined by the kernel morphology which is an important parameter for manufacturing different food products requiring specific grain characteristics. Although kernel size and shape have emerged as important breeding objectives, not much information is available about the number or location of associated gene(s)/quantitative trait loci. In the present study, a recombinant inbred line population of 106 plants (F 7 ) was phenotyped for four traits, namely kernel length. width, weight and factor form density (FFD) and genotyped with different polymerase chain reaction-based markers. Transgressive segregants were observed for all the traits and genetic correlation studies showed positive correlations between the majority of the traits. The number of markers associated with each trait ranged from two to nine and the phenotypic contribution by an individual marker ranged from 3.3 to 16.6%. Many of the markers showed linkage to more than one trait. Strategies for improving the wheat grain quality traits and the utility of such markers in marker-assisted selection (MAS) efforts are discussed.

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