One of the grains that is most commonly consumed worldwide is bread wheat (T. aestivum). The following quality attributes were assessed for an association panel of 154 T. aestivum lines: protein percentage, SDS Sedimentation Value, Grain Appearance (GA) Score, Grain Hardness (GH), Phenol Reaction (PR) Score, and Test Weight (TWt).

Furthermore, the panel was also phenotyped at the BISA sites in Ludhiana and Jabalpur for grain production and associated characteristics like days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, and thousand kernel weight. Using 18,351 genotyping-by-sequencing markers, we conducted a genome-wide association analysis on this panel to identify marker-trait relationships for characteristics linked to grain yield and quality. On chromosomes 7B (10), 1A (9), 2A (8), 3B (6), 2B (5), 7A (4), 1B (3), 3A, 4A, and 6D, we found 55 SNP MTAs for quality-related attributes; the remaining chromosomes, 4B, 5A, 5B, and 1D, had one SNP MTA each.

Furthermore, on chromosomes 7D (4) and 4D (3), 20 SNP MTAs were found for yield-related variables in Ludhiana, while 44 SNP MTAs were identified for Jabalpur on chromosomes 2D (6), as well as 7A (5), 2A (4), and 4A (4).

The findings demonstrate the value of GWAS in determining the genetic underpinnings of quality traits in T. aestivum. More validation research on these loci will be beneficial for using them in marker-assisted selection to enhance hexaploid wheat for higher yield and improved grain quality.