Received  27 October, 2017    Accepted  11 January, 2018

Wheat is an important source of essential minerals for human body. Breeding wheat with high grain mineral concentration thus benefits human health. The objective of present study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling grain mineral concentration and to evaluate the relation between nitrogen (N) and other essential minerals in winter wheat. Wheat grains were harvested from field experiment which conducted in China and analyzed for this purpose. Forty-three QTLs controlling grain mineral concentration and nitrogen-related traits were detected by using a double haploid (DH) population derived from winter wheat varieties Hanxuan 10 and Lumai 14. Chromosomes 4D and 5A might be very important in controlling mineral status in wheat grains. Significant positive correlations were found between grain nitrogen concentration (GNC) and nutrients Fe, Mn, Cu, Mg concentrations (FeGC, MnGC, CuGC, MgGC). Flag leaf N concentration at anthesis (FLNC) significantly and positively correlated with GNC, FeGC, MnGC, and CuGC. The study extended our knowledge on minerals in wheat grains and suggested which interactions between minerals should be considered in future breeding program.

Aerobic rice has the advantage of saving water. Most published work has focused on improving its yield, while few reported on its micronutrient status. In fact, Fe deficiency is a common nutritional problem in the production of aerobic rice. Shortterm hydroponic culture experiments were conducted to study the response of aerobic rice to Fe deficiency and the effect of root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat on its Fe uptake ability. The results indicate that the amount of phytosiderophores (PS) released from aerobic rice did not increase under Fe deficient conditions. The Fe(III) reducing capacity of Fe-deficient aerobic rice did not increase and the solution pH did not decrease significantly. What’s more, no obvious swelling was observed in the root tips. Aerobic rice did not show special responses to improve their Fe nutrition under Fe deficiency as both strategy I and II plants though they were very sensitive to Fe deficiency. This may be a reason which causes Fe deficiency problem in aerobic rice. However, root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat (PSw) could improve its Fe nutrition in the presence of insoluble Fe(OH)3. This suggests that aerobic rice could utilize Fe activated by PSw.