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Chromosomal regions conferring zinc efficiency in barley, recently
identified by three WA researchers, could have important implications
for improving the zinc status of the human diet.
Behzad Sadeghzadeh, PhD student and Professor Zed Rengel, both of
the School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences (FNAS) at The University of Western Australia
(UWA), worked with Dr Chengdao Li from the Department of Agriculture
and Food WA (DAFWA) on the project.
Professor Rengel said the discovery of genetic markers contributing
to improved barley productivity and nutritional quality in
zinc-deficient environments is promising because as an essential trace
element for humans, zinc has a crucial role in more than 300 enzymes in
the human body.
According to Professor Rengel, zinc is vital for physical and mental
development, fertility, vision and resistance to infections, yet many
of the world's soils and therefore foods are zinc-deficient.
"Zinc deficiency is a problem in many developing countries and is
the fifth leading cause of diseases, especially diarrhoea and pneumonia
in children."
Mr Sadeghzadeh, whose PhD is supported by the Government of Iran,
discovered that some barleys grow and yield well, even in
zinc-deficient soils, because they are zinc efficient and have
zinc-dense seed.
A doubled-haploid population of 150 barley lines derived from a
cross between a zinc-inefficient Australian cultivar, ‘Clipper' and a
zinc-efficient Algerian wild barley, ‘Sahara 3771', were screened for
seed zinc content under field conditions at UWA's Shenton Park Field
Research Station.
Comprehensive molecular mapping of doubled-haploid populations,
using 302 markers, enabled Mr Sadeghzadeh to identify quantitative
trait loci for zinc accumulation in barley seed.
"Two regions on chromosome 2H in barley associated with zinc
concentration and content in seed could explain 45 per cent and 59 per
cent of the total variation in the seed zinc concentration and content,
respectively," he said.
"Identifying molecular markers linked to genetic loci controlling
seed zinc will allow more rapid and efficient screening of barley lines
than traditional techniques.
"By selecting lines with zinc-dense seed, barley breeders will be
able to produce cultivars that yield better in zinc-deficient soils and
also contribute required amounts of zinc to the human diet," Mr
Sadeghzadeh said.
Editor's Note:
Original news release can be found here.
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