Novel quantitative trait loci for low grain cadmium concentration in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Cadmium (Cd) is as an extremely toxic metal that can contaminate agricultural soils. To reduce the risk of Cd intake in food cereals, the development of cultivars with low grain Cd concentration (GCC) is an effective countermeasure. We analyzed quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for GCC in a doubled haploid (DH) common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) population derived from ‘Chugoku 165’ (low GCC) × ‘Chukei 10-22’ (high GCC). We found novel loci for low GCC on the short arm of chromosome 4B and on the long arm of chromosome 6B. These QTLs accounted for 9.4%–25.4% (4B) and 9.0%–17.8% (6B) of the phenotypic variance in the DH population. An association analysis with 43 cultivars identified 3 loci at these QTLs: QCdc.4B-kita, QCdc.6B-kita1, and QCdc.6B-kita2. In contrast to durum wheat and barley, no QTL was detected on the chromosomes of homeologous group 5 for heavy metal P1B-type ATPase 3. These results will contribute to marker-assisted selection for low GCC in breeding of common wheat.