Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes of seed Iron and zinc content in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Huan Wang,Qibin Ma,Ze Jiang,Tengxiang Lian,Mingming Duan,Qiuju Xia,Zhandong Cai,Jia Jia,Hai Nian

doi:10.1186/s12864-022-08313-1

Abstract

BackgroundDeciphering the hereditary mechanism of seed iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content in soybean is important and sustainable to address the “hidden hunger” that presently affects approximately 2 billion people worldwide. Therefore, in order to detect genomic regions related to soybean seed Fe and Zn content, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population with 248 lines was assessed in four environments to detect Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) related to soybean seed Fe and Zn content.ResultWide variation was found in seed Fe and Zn content in four environments, and genotype, environment, and genotype × environment interactions had significant influences on both the seed Fe and Zn content. A positive correlation was observed between seed Fe content and seed Zn content, and broad-sense heritability (H2) of seed Fe and Zn content were 0.73 and 0.75, respectively. In this study, five QTLs for seed Fe content were detected with 4.57 - 32.71% of phenotypic variation explained (PVE) and logarithm of odds (LOD) scores ranging from 3.60 to 33.79. Five QTLs controlling the seed Zn content were detected, and they individually explained 3.35 to 26.48% of the phenotypic variation, with LOD scores ranging from 3.64 to 20.4. Meanwhile, 409,541 high-quality single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and 85,102 InDels (except intergenic regions) between two bi-parental lines were identified by whole genome resequencing. A total of 12 candidate genes were reported in one major QTL for seed Fe content and two major QTLs for seed Zn content, with the help of RNA-Seq analysis, gene ontology (GO) enrichment, gene annotation, and bi-parental whole genome sequencing (WGS) data.ConclusionsLimited studies were performed about microelement of soybean, so these results may play an important role in the biofortification of Fe and Zn and accelerate the development of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for breeding soybeans fortified with iron and zinc.

Highlights

Deciphering the hereditary mechanism of seed iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content in soybean is important and sustainable to address the “hidden hunger” that presently affects approximately 2 billion people worldwide
Limited studies were performed about microelement of soybean, so these results may play an important role in the biofortification of Fe and Zn and accelerate the development of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for breeding soybeans fortified with iron and zinc
The ANOVA results demonstrated that widely significant differences existed between GZ1 and B13 for seed Fe content or seed Zn content in the four environments (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Deciphering the hereditary mechanism of seed iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content in soybean is important and sustainable to address the “hidden hunger” that presently affects approximately 2 billion people worldwide. Micronutrients are essential nutrient elements required for human growth and development, such as Fe and Zn, because of their vital roles in a great deal of biochemical functions and key metabolic reactions. Micronutrient malnutrition is generally known as “hidden hunger” and affects more than 2 billion people worldwide. The majority of people rely on plant foods, which often contain low key micronutrients and do not meet the needs of RDAs, especially for Fe and Zn content [4]. Zn deficiencies result in the emergence of poor cognitive development, infaust neuronal development, and disordered immunity [7, 8]

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