Natural Variation in Grain Iron and Zinc Concentrations of Wild Barley, Hordeum spontaneum, Populations from Israel

Abstract

Wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum), the progenitor of cultivated barley, is an important genetic resource for cereal improvement. Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) are essential minerals for human good health. In the current study, the grain Fe and Zn concentrations (GFeC and GZnC) of 92 H. spontaneum genotypes collected from nine populations in Israel, and ten barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare) from five provinces in China were investigated. Remarkable variations in GFeC and GZnC were found between and within wild barley populations, ranging from 10.8 to 329.1 and 66.3 to 493.9 mg kg−1 among the 92 wild genotypes with an average of 74.3 and 173.9 mg kg−1, respectively. The mean value of GFeC and GZnC in each population varied from 48 to 146 and 96 to 291 mg kg−1, respectively. Significant correlations were found among four ecogeographical factors out of the 14 studied, including both GFeC and GZnC. Wild barley exhibited higher values and greater diversity of GFeC and GZnC than its cultivated counterparts. The higher Fe and Zn grain concentrations found in H. spontaneum suggest that wild barley germplasm confers higher abilities for mineral uptake and accumulation, which can be used for genetic studies of barley nutritional value and for further improvement of domesticated cereals.