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Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 19101

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Dr. Adoracion Cabrera

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Department of Genetics, University of Cordoba, Campus Rabanales, E-14071 Cordoba, Spain
Interests: plant genetics; plant breeding; plant biotechnology; molecular plant breeding; genetics; DNA sequencing; genomics; molecular markers; chromosomes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world, providing about one-fifth of the total caloric input for the global population. Over the past century, the search for high yielding varieties has led to narrowing of the genetic base of wheat crops. Increasing the genetic base of crops is essential for adapting wheat varieties to changing disease pressures, market demands, and climatic conditions. The remarkable diversity of regional landraces, local cultivars, and related wild species from the Triticeae tribe belonging to the primary, secondary, and tertiary wheat pool offers a reservoir of genetic variation that has the potential to positively impact on wheat crop improvement and sustainable agriculture.

One of the biggest bottlenecks to increasing the use of this germplasm in wheat breeding is that much critical information is lacking for a lot of these materials stored in the gene bank. The characterization of the genetic variability present in these genetic resources provides the possibility of increasing the genetic background of both durum and bread wheats using the newly detected variants, together with the development of new derived cultivars with improved yield, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, and increased nutrient contents of food.

This Special Issue invites original research, technology reports, methods, opinion, perspectives, reviews, and mini-reviews focusing on the genotypic and phenotypic characterization and evaluation of both the wild germplasm and derived genetic stock of primary, secondary, and tertiary genetic pool of wheat as well as methods for improving the existing system of exploring and managing germplasm collections and their associated data. In addition, the development of interspecific and intergeneric hybrids, crossing barriers, embryo rescue techniques, hybrid fertility, chromosome doubling, bridge crosses, synthetic wheats, methods for promoting non-homologous recombination (e.g., genes controlling chromosome pairing and recombination, gametocidal genes, irradiation) as well as the development of plant materials and populations with introgressions from wheat wild relatives into the genetic background of the crop (wheat–alien translocation lines, chromosome segment substitution lines, multiparent inter-cross populations, etc.) and progress in marker-assisted selection and molecular cytogenetic techniques to detect introgressions, etc., will be considered within the general scope of this Special Issue.

Dr. Adoracion Cabrera
Guest Editor

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Keywords

genetic resources
Triticeae species
wheat
wild relatives

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2278 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Use of Wild Einkorn Wheat for Wheat Grain Quality Improvement: Evaluation and Characterization of Glu-1, Wx and Ha Loci

by Ana B. Huertas-García, Laura Castellano, Carlos Guzmán and Juan B. Alvarez

Agronomy 2021, 11(5), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11050816 - 21 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2309

Abstract

Wild einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. aegilopoides (Link) Thell.) is a diploid wheat species from the Near East that has been classified as an ancestor of the first cultivated wheat (einkorn; T. monococcum L. ssp. monococcum). Its genome (A^m), although it is not the donor of the A genome in polyploid wheat, shows high similarity to the A^u genome. An important characteristic for wheat improvement is grain quality, which is associated with three components of the wheat grain: endosperm storage proteins (gluten properties), starch synthases (starch characteristics) and puroindolines (grain hardness). In the current study, these grain quality traits were studied in one collection of wild einkorn with the objective of evaluating its variability with respect to these three traits. The combined use of protein and DNA analyses allows detecting numerous variants for each one of the following genes: six for Ax, seven for Ay, eight for Wx, four for Gsp-1, two for Pina and three for Pinb. The high variability presence in this species suggests its potential as a source of novel alleles that could be used in modern wheat breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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11 pages, 2328 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Development and Characterization of Wheat-Agropyron cristatum Introgression Lines Induced by Gametocidal Genes and Wheat ph1b Mutant

by Alejandro Copete-Parada, Carmen Palomino and Adoración Cabrera

Agronomy 2021, 11(2), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11020277 - 2 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2386

Abstract

The P genome of Agropyron cristatum Gaertn. contains many desirable genes that can be utilized as genetic resources to improve wheat. In this research, we used both the gametocidal chromosome 2C^c and the pairing homologous gene (Ph1b) mutant to induce structural aberrations and translocations between wheat and the 4P, 5P, and 6P genome chromosomes. By using the two approaches, a total of 19 wheat-A. cristatum translocations have been identified, in which 13 were induced by the Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Spring (CS) ph1b mutant (CS ph1b) and six were induced by gametocidal chromosome 2C^c from Aegilops cylindrica Host. The wheat-4P, -5P and -6P A. cristatum translocations were characterized by in situ hybridization and by a set of conserved orthologous set (COS) molecular markers. The aberrations included centromeric translocations, terminal translocations, dicentric translocations, and deletions. The average induction frequency of chromosome structural aberrations was 10.9% using gametocidal 2C^c chromosome and 8.8% using ph1b mutant. The highest frequency obtained was for chromosome 4P using both approaches. All the wheat-A. cristatum translocation lines obtained were valuable for identifying A. cristatum chromosome 4P, 5P, and 6P related genes. In addition, these lines provided genetic resources and new germplasm accessions for the genetic improvement of wheat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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16 pages, 4847 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wild and Cultivated Homoeologous Barley Chromosomes Can Associate and Recombine in Wheat in the Absence of the Ph1 Locus

by María Carmen Calderón and Pilar Prieto

Agronomy 2021, 11(1), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010147 - 14 Jan 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2083

Abstract

Bread wheat is an allohexaploid that behaves as a diploid during meiosis, the cell division process to produce the gametes occurring in organisms with sexual reproduction. Knowledge of the mechanisms implicated in meiosis can contribute to facilitating the transfer of desirable traits from related species into a crop like wheat in the framework of breeding. It is particularly interesting to shed light on the mechanisms controlling correct pairing between homologous (equivalent) chromosomes and recombination, even more in polyploid species. The Ph1 (Pairing homoeologous 1) locus is implicated in recombination. In this work, we aimed to study whether homoeologous (equivalent chromosomes from different genomes) Hordeum chilense (wild barley) and H. vulgare (cultivated barley) chromosomes can associate and recombine during meiosis in the wheat background in the absence of the Ph1 locus. For this, we have developed H. chilense and H. vulgare double monosomic addition lines for the same and for different homoeology group in wheat in the ph1b mutant background. Using genomic in situ hybridization, we visualized the two (wild and cultivated) barley chromosomes during meiosis and we studied the processes of recognition, association, and recombination between homoeologous chromosomes in the absence of the Ph1 locus. Our results showed that the Ph1 locus does not prevent homoeologous chromosome pairing but it can regulate recombination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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13 pages, 853 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variability for Glutenins, Gluten Quality, Iron, Zinc and Phytic Acid in a Set of One Hundred and Fifty-Eight Common Wheat Landraces from Iran

by Zahra Maryami, Ana Belén Huertas-García, Mohammad Reza Azimi, Nayelli Hernández-Espinosa, Thomas Payne, Fausto Cervantes, Velu Govindan, Maria Itria Ibba and Carlos Guzman

Agronomy 2020, 10(11), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111797 - 16 Nov 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2547

Abstract

Bread wheat can be used to make different products thanks to the presence of gluten, a protein network that confers unique visco-elastic properties to wheat doughs. Gluten is composed by gliadins and glutenins. The glutenins can be further divided into high and low-molecular-weight glutenins (HMWGs and LMWGs, respectively) and are encoded by Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci. The variability of these genes is associated with differences in quality. Because of this, the identification of novel glutenin alleles is still an important target. In this study, 57 haplotypes or glutenin combinations were registered among a set of 158 Iranian landraces and five novel HMWGs alleles were identified. The landraces were also characterized for several quality traits, including gluten quality, which allowed to associate the different glutenin alleles with low or high quality. Other quality traits examined were iron, zinc, and phytate contents, which are intimately related with the nutritional quality. Important variation for these components was found as well as for the phytate:iron/zinc molar ratios (related to the potential bioavailability of these important micronutrients). The landraces identified in the present study (some of them combining high gluten quality with low phytate:zinc values) could be a useful resource for breeders who aim to improve the wheat end-use quality and especially the content of zinc and its relative bioavailability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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10 pages, 1800 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Homoeologous Recombination: A Novel and Efficient System for Broadening the Genetic Variability in Wheat

by Dal-Hoe Koo, Bernd Friebe and Bikram S. Gill

Agronomy 2020, 10(8), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081059 - 22 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2951

Abstract

Gene transfer from wild wheat relatives to bread wheat is restricted to homologous recombination. The presence of the Pairing homoeologous 1 (Ph1) gene in the long arm of wheat chromosome 5B allows only homologous chromosomes to pair and recombine, resulting in diploid inheritance of polyploid wheat. Previously, we identified a potent homoeologous pairing promotor gene(s) (Hpp-5M^g); its carrier chromosome 5M^g derived from Aegilops geniculata and its wheat homoeologous chromosome 5D freely recombined in the presence of the Ph1 gene. In this study, we investigated the effect of Hpp-5M^g on homoeologous recombination in the absence of Ph1. In Hpp-5M^g/ph1bph1b plants, we observed a vast genome-wide increase in homoeologous recombination and multiple crossovers (CO), including CO breakpoints in proximal regions of the chromosomes where recombination is known to be suppressed. We tested the efficacy of Hpp-5M^g/ph1bph1b-induced homoeologous recombination by producing new recombinants for the wheat streak mosaic virus resistance gene, Wsm3, present in the wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium Robertsonian translocation (RobT T7BS.7S#3L). A recombination frequency of 6.5% was detected by screening the progenies double monosomic for T7BS.7S#3L and 7B by genomic in situ hybridization. This recombination frequency was about 100-fold higher compared with the recombinant frequency of 0.06% observed by using ph1b-induced homoeologous recombination alone. Our results indicate that chromosome 5M^g promotes homoeologous recombination between wheat and wild wheat relative chromosomes, which helps in the generation of pre-breeding materials thereby accelerating wheat crop improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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14 pages, 1326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Glutenin Subunits Diversity in a Durum Wheat (T. turgidum ssp. durum) Collection from Morocco

by Youssef Chegdali, Hassan Ouabbou, Abdelkhalid Essamadi, Fausto Cervantes, Maria Itria Ibba and Carlos Guzmán

Agronomy 2020, 10(7), 957; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10070957 - 3 Jul 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2764

Abstract

Landraces and old wheat cultivars display great genetic variation and constitute a valuable resource for the improvement of modern varieties, especially in terms of quality. Gluten quality is one of the major determinants of wheat quality, and it is greatly influenced by variation in the high molecular weight and low molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS and LMW-GS). Identification of novel allelic variants for either of the two groups of the gluten-forming proteins could greatly assist in the improvement of wheat gluten quality. In the present study, the allelic composition of the HMW- and LMW-GS of ninety-five durum wheat accessions was evaluated. These accessions included Moroccan cultivars and landraces and North American cultivars and were all conserved in the National Gene Bank from Morocco. In total, 20 cataloged alleles and 12 novel alleles were detected. For the HMW-GS, two alleles were found at the Glu-A1 locus, and seven different allelic variants were identified at the Glu-B1 locus. Among them, two alleles were new (alleles Glu-B1cp and co). Additionally, two of the analyzed accessions exhibited the Glu-D1d allele, suggesting the presence of the Glu-D1 locus introgression. For the LWM-GS, eight, ten and two alleles were identified at the Glu-A3, Glu-B3 and Glu-B2 loci, respectively. Among them, two new allelic variants were identified at the Glu-A3 locus, and seven new allelic variants were identified at the Glu-B3 locus. Overall, the Moroccan landraces exhibited a greater genetic diversity and a greater number of glutenin alleles compared to the Moroccan and North American durum wheat cultivars. The novel germplasm and glutenin alleles detected in this study could contribute to the improvement of durum wheat quality and the expansion of modern durum wheat genetic diversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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21 pages, 1117 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Engineered Durum Wheat Germplasm with Multiple Alien Introgressions: Agronomic and Quality Performance

by Ljiljana Kuzmanović, Francesco Rossini, Roberto Ruggeri, Mario A. Pagnotta and Carla Ceoloni

Agronomy 2020, 10(4), 486; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10040486 - 1 Apr 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3417

Abstract

If genetic gains in wheat yield are to be achieved in today’s breeding, increasing the genetic variability of cultivated genotypes is an essential requisite to meet. To this aim, alien gene transfer through chromosome engineering (CE) is a validated and sound strategy. Attempts to incorporate more than one alien segment into cultivated wheat have been rare, particularly for tetraploid durum wheat. Here, we present the agronomic and quality performance of the first successful CE-mediated multiple introgression into the latter species. By assembling into 7AL, 3BS, and 1AS arms of a single genotype homoeologous segments of Thinopyrum ponticum 7el₁L, Aegilops longissima 3S^lS, and Triticum aestivum 1DS arms, respectively, we have stacked several valuable alien genes, comprising Lr19+Sr25+Yp (leaf and stem rust resistance and a gene increasing semolina yellowness), Pm13 (powdery mildew resistance), and Gli-D1/Glu-D3 (genes affecting gluten properties), respectively. Advanced progenies of single, double, and triple recombinants were field-tested across three years in a typical durum wheat growing area of central Italy. The results showed that not only all recombinants had normal phenotype and fertility, but also that one of the triple recombinants had the highest yield through all seasons compared with all other recombinants and control cultivars. Moreover, the multiple introgressions enhanced quality traits, including gluten characteristics and semolina yellow index. The presence of effective disease resistance genes confers additional breeding value to the novel and functional CE products, which can greatly contribute to crop security and safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Use of Species from Triticeae Tribe in the Wheat Breeding)

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