Colocation between a gene encoding the bZip factor SPA and an eQTL for a high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit in wheat (Triticum aestivum).

The quality of wheat grain is largely determined by the quantity and composition of storage proteins (prolamins) and depends on mechanisms underlying the regulation of expression of prolamin genes. The endosperm-specific wheat basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) factor storage protein activator (SPA) is a positive regulator that binds to the promoter of a prolamin gene. The aim of this study was to map SPA (the gene encoding bZIP factor SPA) and genomic regions associated with quantitative variations of storage protein fractions using F7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between Triticum aestivum "Renan" and T. aestivum "Récital". SPA was mapped through RFLP using a cDNA probe and a specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker. Storage protein fractions in the parents and RILs were quantified using capillary electrophoresis. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for protein were detected and mapped on six chromosome regions. One QTL, located on the long arm of chromosome 1B, explained 70% of the variation in quantity of the x subunit of Glu-B1. Genetic mapping suggested that SPA is located on chromosome arm 1L and is also present in the confidence interval of the corresponding QTL for Glu-B1x on 1BL, suggesting that SPA might be a candidate gene for this QTL.