Traditional maize (Zea mays L.) is deficient in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Metal transporter proteins play pivotal role in uptake, translocation and accumulation of minerals. Here, a set of 70 intergenic SSRs, 20 intragenic SSRs and 20 intragenic InDel markers encompassing 62 metal transporter genes were used for characterization of 24 diverse inbreds varying for Fe (13.95–37.34 µg/g) and Zn (11.83–37.90 µg/g). A total of 356 alleles, with 26 unique (7.03%) and 36 rare (10.11%) alleles were observed. Cluster analysis categorized the inbreds into two main clusters. Five candidate gene-based intragenic SSRs were significantly associated with Fe (r = 0.46–0.52). Two intragenic InDel markers and 11 SSRs were significantly correlated with Zn (r = 0.44–0.76). HUZM-185 and HKI-323 possessed favourable allele of five genes that showed significantly high correlation with Fe. At least six significantly associated genes for Zn were found in BQPML-5207-4-2, CML152, CML169 and HKI193-1. Based on genetic distance, presence of genes and high micronutrients, potential cross combinations were identified for the exploitation of heterosis. This study is the first report on characterizing maize inbreds using markers for metal transporter genes.

传统玉米（Zea mays L.）缺乏铁（Fe）和锌（Zn）。金属转运蛋白在矿物质的吸收，转运和积累中起关键作用。在这里，使用一组包含62个金属转运蛋白基因的70个基因间SSR，20个基因内SSR和20个基因内InDel标记物来表征24种不同的近交种，其中Fe（13.95-37.34 µg / g）和Zn（11.83-37.90 µg / g ）。总共观察到356个等位基因，其中26个独特（7.03％）和36个稀有（10.11％）等位基因。聚类分析将近交者分为两个主要的聚类。五种基于基因的候选基因内SSR与铁显着相关（r = 0.46-0.52）。两个InIngene InDel标记和11个SSR与锌显着相关（r = 0.44–0.76）。HUZM-185和HKI-323具有5个基因的有利等位基因，这些基因与Fe显着相关。在BQPML-5207-4-2，CML152，CML169和HKI193-1中发现了至少六个与锌显着相关的基因。根据遗传距离，基因和高微量营养素的存在，确定了潜在的交叉组合以利用杂种优势。这项研究是有关使用金属转运蛋白基因标记表征玉米自交系的第一份报告。