Genome-Wide QTL Mapping for Wheat Processing Quality Parameters in a Gaocheng 8901/Zhoumai 16 Recombinant Inbred Line Population

Dough rheological and starch pasting properties play an important role in determining processing quality in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the present study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a Gaocheng 8901/Zhoumai 16 cross grown in three environments was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for dough rheological and starch pasting properties evaluated by Mixograph, Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA) and Mixolab parameters using 90K and 660K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip assays. A high-density linkage map constructed with 46,961 polymorphic SNP markers from the wheat 90K and 660K SNP assays spanned a total length of 4,121 cM, with an average chromosome length of 196.2 cM and marker density of 0.09 cM/marker; 6,596 new SNP markers were anchored to the bread wheat linkage map, with 1,046 and 5,550 markers from the 90K and 660K SNP assays, respectively. Composite interval mapping identified 119 additive QTLs on 20 chromosomes except 4D; among them, 15 accounted for more than 10% of the phenotypic variation across two or three environments. Twelve QTLs for Mixograph parameters, 17 for RVA parameters and 55 for Mixolab parameters were new. Eleven QTL clusters were identified. The closely linked SNP markers can be used in marker-assisted wheat breeding in combination with the Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) technique for improvement of processing quality in bread wheat.