Quality Gene Mining and Breeding of Wheat

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2025 | Viewed by 2861

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Interests: wheat; disease resistance, gene mapping and cloning, molecular breeding

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Guest Editor
School of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Interests: wheat disease; molecular breeding; gene cloning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (AGIS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Shenzhen 518000, China
Interests: grain yield; gene cloning; quantitative genetics; design breeding; wheat

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wheat holds significant global importance as a staple food crop due to its widespread cultivation and economic significance. Therefore, losses in the yield and quality of wheat will severely affect our subsistence and life. Many traits relating to wheat production, such as disease resistance and its high quality, are mainly controlled by quality trait genes. Common wheat is a hexaploidy crop (2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) with many wheat varieties, landraces and wild relatives. These germplasm carry plentiful excellent-quality genes for the genetic enhancement of wheat. Recent advances in wheat genomic sequencing and molecular genetics technologies have enabled us to mine and clone these quality genes for molecular breeding more efficiently. With the emergence of various powerful phenotype and genotype techniques, our ability to mine and clone quality trait genes has substantially increased. However, the precise mapping and accurate isolation of new genes from both wheat and its wild relatives remain relatively difficult. This Special Issue aims to present the latest developments in and applications of wheat phenotyping, genome sequencing, gene mapping, map-based cloning and molecular breeding techniques in the mining of quality genes in common wheat and its wild relatives.

Prof. Dr. Hongxing Xu
Prof. Dr. Pengtao Ma
Prof. Dr. Yunfeng Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wheat
  • wild relatives
  • quality gene
  • gene mining
  • gene cloning
  • molecular breeding

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4292 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of Phytosulfokine Receptor Genes (PSKRs) in Triticum aestivum with Docking Simulations of Their Interactions with Phytosulfokine (PSK): A Bioinformatics Study
by Hala Badr Khalil
Genes 2024, 15(10), 1306; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15101306 - 9 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The phytosulfokine receptor (PSKR) gene family plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth, development, and stress response. Here, the PSKR gene family was characterized in Triticum aestivum L. The study aimed to bridge knowledge gaps and clarify the functional [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The phytosulfokine receptor (PSKR) gene family plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth, development, and stress response. Here, the PSKR gene family was characterized in Triticum aestivum L. The study aimed to bridge knowledge gaps and clarify the functional roles of TaPSKRs to create a solid foundation for examining the structure, functions, and regulatory aspects. Methods: The investigation involved genome-wide identification of PSKRs through collection and chromosomal assignment, followed by phylogenetic analysis and gene expression profiling. Additionally, interactions with their interactors were stimulated and analyzed to elucidate their function. Results: The wide-genome inspection of all TaPSKRs led to 25 genes with various homeologs, resulting in 57 TaPSKR members distributed among the A, B, and D subgenomes. Investigating the expression of 61 TaPSKR cDNAs in RNA-seq datasets generated from different growth stages at 14, 21, and 60 days old and diverse tissues such as leaves, shoots, and roots provided further insight into their functional purposes. The expression profile of the TaPSKRs resulted in three key clusters. Gene cluster 1 (GC 1) is partially associated with root growth, suggesting that specific TaPSKRs control root development. The GC 2 cluster targeted genes that show high levels of expression in all tested leaf growth stages and the early developmental stage of the shoots and roots. Furthermore, the GC 3 cluster was composed of genes that are constantly expressed, highlighting their crucial role in regulating various processes during the entire life cycle of wheat. Molecular docking simulations showed that phytosulfokine type α (PSK-α) interacted with all TaPSKRs and had a strong binding affinity with certain TaPSKR proteins, encompassing TaPSKR1A, TaPSKR3B, and TaPSKR13A, that support their involvement in PSK signaling pathways. The crucial arbitration of the affinity may depend on interactions between wheat PSK-α and PSKRs, especially in the LRR domain region. Conclusions: These discoveries deepened our knowledge of the role of the TaPSKR gene family in wheat growth and development, opening up possibilities for further studies to enhance wheat durability and yield via focused innovation approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Gene Mining and Breeding of Wheat)
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16 pages, 1389 KiB  
Article
A Genome-Wide Association Study Approach to Identify Novel Major-Effect Quantitative Trait Loci for End-Use Quality Traits in Soft Red Winter Wheat
by Madhav Subedi, John White Bagwell, Benjamin Lopez, Byung-Kee Baik, Md. Ali Babar and Mohamed Mergoum
Genes 2024, 15(9), 1177; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15091177 - 7 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Wheat is used for making many food products due to its diverse quality profile among different wheat classes. Since laboratory analysis of these end-use quality traits is costly and time-consuming, genetic dissection of the traits is preferential. This study used a genome-wide association [...] Read more.
Wheat is used for making many food products due to its diverse quality profile among different wheat classes. Since laboratory analysis of these end-use quality traits is costly and time-consuming, genetic dissection of the traits is preferential. This study used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of ten end-use quality traits, including kernel protein, flour protein, flour yield, softness equivalence, solvent’s retention capacity, cookie diameter, and top-grain, in soft red winter wheat (SRWW) adapted to US southeast. The GWAS included 266 SRWW genotypes that were evaluated in two locations over two years (2020–2022). A total of 27,466 single nucleotide markers were used, and a total of 80 significant marker-trait associations were identified. There were 13 major-effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) explaining >10% phenotypic variance, out of which, 12 were considered to be novel. Five of the major-effect QTLs were found to be stably expressed across multiple datasets, and four showed associations with multiple traits. Candidate genes were identified for eight of the major-effect QTLs, including genes associated with starch biosynthesis and nutritional homeostasis in plants. These findings increase genetic comprehension of these end-use quality traits and could potentially be used for improving the quality of SRWW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Gene Mining and Breeding of Wheat)
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17 pages, 1233 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Virulence and Molecular Diversity of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici Isolates Collected in 2016 and 2023 in the Western Region of China
by Tesfay Gebrekirstos Gebremariam, Fengtao Wang, Ruiming Lin and Hongjie Li
Genes 2024, 15(5), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15050542 - 25 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is adept at overcoming resistance in wheat cultivars, through variations in virulence in the western provinces of China. To apply disease management strategies, it is essential to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of Pst [...] Read more.
Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is adept at overcoming resistance in wheat cultivars, through variations in virulence in the western provinces of China. To apply disease management strategies, it is essential to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of Pst populations. This study aimed to evaluate the virulence and molecular diversity of 84 old Pst isolates, in comparison to 59 newer ones. By using 19 Chinese wheat differentials, we identified 98 pathotypes, showing virulence complexity ranging from 0 to 16. Associations between 23 Yr gene pairs showed linkage disequilibrium and have the potential for gene pyramiding. The new Pst isolates had a higher number of polymorphic alleles (1.97), while the older isolates had a slightly higher number of effective alleles, Shannon’s information, and diversity. The Gansu Pst population had the highest diversity (uh = 0.35), while the Guizhou population was the least diverse. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 94% of the observed variation occurred within Pst populations across the four provinces, while 6% was attributed to differences among populations. Overall, Pst populations displayed a higher pathotypic diversity of H > 2.5 and a genotypic diversity of 96%. This underscores the need to develop gene-pyramided cultivars to enhance the durability of resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Gene Mining and Breeding of Wheat)
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