Quantitative trait loci associated with deoxynivalenol content and kernel quality in the soft red winter wheat 'Ernie'

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe [telomorph: Gibberella zeae (Schwein.) Petch] reduces quality in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) when deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulates in the grain. 'Ernie' soft red winter wheat has been used as a source of FHB resistance in many U.S. breeding programs because of its type II resistance, low DON, and good kernel quality under heavy disease pressure. The objectives of this study were to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with both low DON and kernel quality and to determine their association with QTL previously identified for type II resistance in Ernie. Data for DON and Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK) were collected from 243 recombinant inbred lines of the cross Emie/MO 94-317 grown in inoculated greenhouse experiments conducted in 2002 and 2003. A total of 420 simple sequence repeat and 64 EcoRI/Msel amplified fragment length polymorphism primers were used for parental screening. Three QTL were consistently identified on chromosomes 3BSc, 4BL, and 5AS for both DON and FDK that explained 31 and 42% of the total phenotypic variation in these two traits, respectively. A fourth minor QTL on 2B (R-2 = 4%) was also detected for FDK but was not significant for DON. These QTL were coincidental with those previously identified for type II resistance in Ernie, which suggested that the inheritance of these three resistance factors is interdependent in this variety. These findings should enhance the efficiency of using this source of resistance for FHB-resistance breeding.