Validation of Molecular Markers Associated with Grain Cadmium in Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum Desf.)

Abstract

Durum wheat is capable of accumulating cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, in the grain at levels that have been deemed unsafe. Previous studies have identified genetic variation in durum wheat that can be exploited to create low Cd cultivars. In this study, six KASP markers were validated on 4,178 durum wheat samples from preliminary and advanced yield trials grown in 2013 and 2014 at Langdon, Minot, and Williston, North Dakota. One marker on chromosome 5B was polymorphic in all crosses between high and low Cd parents and had r² values ranging from 0.38-0.85. Two other markers on the same chromosome predicted similar levels of variation in many trials; however these were not polymorphic in all populations. Two markers linked to the grain Cd locus on chromosome 5B are suitable for marker assisted selection due to the more widely shared polymorphism of one and the closer linkage distance of the other.