Atlas Journal of Plant Biology 1 (3): 39–49, 2015 doi: 10.5147/ajpb.2015.0155 Identiication of QTL Underlying Seed Micronutrients Accumu- lation in ‘MD 96-5722’ by ‘Spencer’ Recombinant Inbred Lines of Soybean Nacer Bellaloui 1 , Laila Khandaker 2 , Masum Akond 2 , Stella K. Kantartzi 3 , Khalid Meksem 3 , Al- emu Mengistu 4 , DA Lightfoot 3 , and My Abdelmajid Kassem 2,5* 1 Crop Genetics Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 141 Experiment Station Road, P.O. Box 345, Stoneville, MS, USA; 2 Plant Genomics and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, USA; 3 Department of Plant, Soil and Agri- cultural Systems, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA; 4 Crop Genetics Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 605 Airways Blvd, Jackson, TN, USA; 5 Current Address: The School of Arts and Sciences, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah, P.O. Box 10021, United Arab Emirates. Received: February 7, 2015 / Accepted: February 28, 2015 __________________________________________________ * Corresponding author: mkassem@uncfsu.edu Introduction Soybean is a major crop in the world and its seeds are con- sidered a major source of essential nutrients for human and animal nutrition. In addition to seed protein, oil, fatty acids, isolavones, and sugars, soybean seeds contain micronutrients (trace elements) such as Fe, Zn, Mn, B, and Cu. Micronutrients are essential for human nutrition, and unbalanced diet of these nutrients can lead to human malnutrition and health problems 39 Abstract Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with seed nutrition levels is almost non-existent. The objec- tive of this study was to identify QTLs associated with seed micronutrients (iron, Fe; zinc, Zn; bororn, B; manganese, Mn; and copper, Cu) accumulation (concentration) in a popula- tion of 92 F 5:7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) that derived from a cross between MD 96-5722 (MD) and ‘Spencer’. For this purpose, a genetic linkage map based on 5,376 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers was constructed using the Illumina Ininium SoySNP6K BeadChip array. The RILs were genotyped using 537 polymorphic, reliably seg- regating SNP markers. A total of 23 QTLs for micronutrients Fe, Zn, B, Mn, and Cu have been identiied and mapped on eight linkage groups (LGs) of the soybean genome. Five QTLs were detected for Fe (qIRO001- qIRO005) on LGs N, A1, K, J, and G. Seven QTLs for Zn (qZIN001-qZIN007) on LGs D1a (Chr 1), N (Chr 3), F (Chr 5), B2 (Chr 14), J (Chr 16), A1 (Chr 5), and K (Chr 9). Two QTLs for B (qBOR001 and qBOR002) were detected on LGs N and A1. Four QTLs were detected for Mn (qMAN001-qMAN004) on LGs N, A1, K, and J, and ive QTLs were detected for Cu (qCOP001- qCOP005) on LGs N, A1, K, J, and G). It was observed that the four QTLs for Atlas Journal of Plant Biology - ISSN 1949-1379. Published By Atlas Publishing, LP (www.atlas-publishing.org) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecom- mons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the origi- nal work is properly cited. Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn on LGs N (Chr 3), LG A1 (Chr 5), and LG J (Chr 16) were clustered in a similar region of the linkage groups, suggesting possible shared physiological and genet- ic mechanisms. The QTLs detected in this study are novel and will contribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of seed mineral nutrition. This research would allow breeders to eficiently select for higher seed nutritional qualities to meet the seed industry and human and livestock nutritional needs. Keywords: Soybean, seed minerals, trace elements, micronutri- ents, seed composition, RIL, genetic mapping, SNP, QTL.