Quantitative trait loci for mineral accumulation efficiency and biomass production in barley under different levels of zinc supply

Abstract Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common limiting factor in agricultural soils that significantly reduces both yield and nutritional quality of agricultural produce. Exploring the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for shoot and grain Zn accumulation would help to develop barley cultivars with greater Zn accumulation efficiency. In this study, two glasshouse experiments were conducted by growing plants under adequate and low Zn supply. From the preliminary screening of ten barley cultivars, Sahara (0.05 mg/pot) and Yerong (0.06 mg/pot) showed the lowest difference while Franklin (0.16 mg/pot) had the highest difference in shoot Zn accumulation as a result of the change in Zn supply for plant growth. Therefore, the double haploid (DH) population derived from Yerong x Franklin was selected for the identification of QTL for shoot mineral accumulation and biomass production. A major QTL hotspot was detected on chromosome 2H between 31.91–73.12 cM encoding genes for regulating shoot mineral accumulations of Zn, Fe, Ca, K and P, and the biomass. Further investigation demonstrated that 16 potential candidate genes for mineral accumulation, in addition to a single candidate gene for shoot biomass were found in the identified QTL region of this study. The genomic region identified in this study could be a useful resource for the improvement of mineral nutrient composition and yield potential in future barley breeding programs.