Inheritance and identification of DNA markers associated with yellow berry tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Yellow berry (YB) is a serious seed disorder in durum wheat, bread wheat and triticale, which arises due to deficiency in nitrogen concentration in the soil. YB seriously affects the grain protein content (GPC) thereby affecting bread making quality in bread wheat and pasta making quality in durum wheat. In order to study the inheritance and to identify DNA markers associated with YB tolerance, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of 113 individuals was developed by making a cross between Rye Selection 111 (RS 111), highly resistant to YB and Chinese Spring (CS), a susceptible parent. Phenotyping of this population to YB incidence indicated that, at least one major gene/QTL and few minor genes govern the tolerance to YB. DNA marker analysis revealed linkage of two microsatellite markers Xgwm 174 and Xgwm190 from chromosome 5D with YB tolerance while one ISSR marker UBC842(600) and one RAPD marker OPR8(1000) from chromosome 6B were found to be associated with YB tolerance in repulsion phase. Association of YB tolerance with that of GPC was analyzed using the markers associated with YB tolerance. It was found to be reciprocal in this population in accordance with the previous reports.