Identification of genomic regions associated with grain zinc concentration in RILs derived from popular cultivar MTU1010 and BR2655 of rice

In the present study seven quantitative traits and grain zinc content were evaluated using 190 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from MTU 1010 and BR 2655 during wet season (WS) 2016 and dry season (DS) 2016-17. A total of 948 SSR markers used for parental polymorphism, of which 119 were found polymorphic. The linkage map of 1874.09 cM with an average marker interval of 331.23 cM was constructed using 60 polymorphic SSR markers with clear resolution. Nine QTLs on chromosome 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 12 were detected for eight traits in WS 2016 and DS 2016-17. Among the nine QTLs, number of productive tillers per plant (qNPT-5.1) accounted for highest phenotypic variance (7.54%) over both the seasons. A stable QTL for grain zinc (qZn-2.1) wasdetected on chromosome 2 flanked between RM13347 and RM262 with phenotypic variance of 7.74% (WS) and 10.2% (DS). Therefore, these QTLs and marker information could be validated further and utilized in the marker-assisted selection to improve nutritional trait (zinc) in rice.