Molecular mapping of high iron and zinc rich regions in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain using microsatellite markers

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a primary source of food for billions of people throughout the world, yet it contains insufficient levels of the key micronutrients iron, zinc and vitamin A to meet the daily dietary requirements. Biofortification of staple food crops has thus been considered a sustainable strategy to overcome the problem of micronutrient deficiencies prevalent in rice. The present investigation was conceptualized with the prime objective of mapping the chromosomal regions associated with high iron and zinc content involving the F2 populations derived from the cross of Swarna with Madhukar for high iron and zinc content using microsatellite markers derived from the genomic regions associated with iron and zinc metabolism. Three polymorphic markers viz., SC 120, SC 128 and SC129 were identified which were unlinked and hence single marker analysis was done to check the association of the marker with the trait. SC129 showed highest significant variation with both iron and zinc at the tune of R2=13.09% and R 2= 19.51%, respectively. The association could be made more stringent by further analysis of more number of lines and using more number of markers.