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Advanced Research in Wheat Genome and Breeding

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A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 3575

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Dr. Maria Oszvald

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Sustainable Soils and Crops, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
Interests: plant tissue culture; molecular biology; biotechnology; plant biotechnology; agricultural biotechnology; plant genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wheat is one of the most important crops, providing a source of dietary protein and calories for the majority of the world’s population.

Wheat production is challenged by biotic and abiotic stresses, causing significant yield losses in global wheat production environments that can lead to food insecurity. There is also a need for a healthier diet, which, for instance, includes higher fibre intake.

The above being the case, developing effective resistance genes in wheat breeding programs is essential. Understanding the genetic background of grain development could help to identify, characterize, and deploy effective genes from diverse sources into pre-breeding lines and future wheat varieties.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and associated bioinformatics tools have revolutionized wheat genomics. The full wheat genome sequence alignment is the most important landmark that enables the identification of marker–trait associations, candidate genes, and enhanced breeding values in genomic selection studies. High-throughput genotyping platforms have an essential role in the estimation of genetic diversity, the construction of high-density genetic maps, dissecting polygenic traits, better understanding their interactions through GWAS and QTL mapping, and the isolation of different genes. The application of breeder-friendly KASP assays in wheat breeding programs has expedited the identification and pyramiding of resistance- or quality-related alleles/genes in elite lines.

Dr. Maria Oszvald
Guest Editor

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Keywords

wheat genome
candidate genes
QTL mapping
breeding
genetic traits

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phenotyping and Exploitation of Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR Assays for Genes Underpinning Leaf Rust Resistance in New Spring Wheat Mutant Lines

by Saule Kenzhebayeva, Shynarbek Mazkirat, Sabina Shoinbekova, Saule Atabayeva, Alfia Abekova, Nargul Omirbekova, Gulina Doktyrbay, Saltant Asrandina, Dinara Zharassova, Aigul Amirova and Albrecht Serfling

Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2024, 46(1), 689-709; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cimb46010045 - 12 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 724

Abstract

Leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks) is a wheat disease causing substantial yield losses in wheat production globally. The identification of genetic resources with permanently effective resistance genes and the generation of mutant lines showing increased levels of resistance allow the efficient incorporation of these target genes into germplasm pools by marker-assisted breeding. In this study, new mutant (M₃ generation) lines generated from the rust-resistant variety Kazakhstanskaya-19 were developed using gamma-induced mutagenesis through 300-, 350-, and 400-Gy doses. In field trials after leaf rust inoculation, 75 mutant lines showed adult plant resistance. These lines were evaluated for resistance at the seedling stage via microscopy in greenhouse experiments. Most of these lines (89.33%) were characterized as resistant at both developmental stages. Hyperspectral imaging analysis indicated that infected leaves of wheat genotypes showed increased relative reflectance in visible and near-infrared light compared to the non-infected genotypes, with peak means at 462 and 644 nm, and 1936 and 2392 nm, respectively. Five spectral indexes, including red edge normalized difference vegetation index (RNDVI), structure-insensitive pigment index (SIPI), ratio vegetation index (RVSI), water index (WI), and normalized difference water index (NDWI), demonstrated significant potential for determining disease severity at the seedling stage. The most significant differences in reflectance between susceptible and resistant mutant lines appeared at 694.57 and 987.51 nm. The mutant lines developed were also used for the development and validation of KASP markers for leaf rust resistance genes Lr1, Lr2a, Lr3, Lr9, Lr10, and Lr17. The mutant lines had high frequencies of “a” resistance alleles (0.88) in all six Lr genes, which were significantly associated with seedling resistance and suggest the potential of favorable haplotype introgression through functional markers. Nine mutant lines characterized by the presence of “b” alleles in Lr9 and Lr10—except for one line with allele “a” in Lr9 and three mutant lines with allele “a” in Lr10—showed the progressive development of fungal haustorial mother cells 72 h after inoculation. One line from 300-Gy-dosed mutant germplasm with “b” alleles in Lr1, Lr2a, Lr10, and Lr17 and “a” alleles in Lr3 and Lr9 was characterized as resistant based on the low number of haustorial mother cells, suggesting the contribution of the “a” alleles of Lr3 and Lr9. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research in Wheat Genome and Breeding)

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31 pages, 9129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physiological and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Commonalities and Specificities in Wheat in Response to Aluminum and Manganese

by Daozhen Luo, Chunnuan Xian, Wenjie Zhang, Ying Qin, Qing Li, Muhammad Usman, Shiheng Sun, Yongxiu Xing and Dengfeng Dong

Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2024, 46(1), 367-397; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cimb46010024 - 02 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1001

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) toxicity are the top two constraints of crop production in acid soil. Crops have evolved common and specific mechanisms to tolerate the two stresses. In the present study, the responses (toxicity and tolerance) of near-isogenic wheat lines (ET8 and ES8) and their parents (Carazinho and Egret) to Al and Mn were compared by determining the physiological parameters and conducting transcriptome profiling of the roots. The results showed the following: (1) Carazinho and ET8 exhibited dual tolerance to Al and Mn compared to Egret and ES8, indicated by higher relative root elongation and SPAD. (2) After entering the roots, Al was mainly distributed in the roots and fixed in the cell wall, while Mn was mainly distributed in the cell sap and then transported to the leaves. Both Al and Mn stresses decreased the contents of Ca, Mg, and Zn; Mn stress also inhibited the accumulation of Fe, while Al showed an opposite effect. (3) A transcriptomic analysis identified 5581 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under Al stress and 4165 DEGs under Mn stress. Among these, 2774 DEGs were regulated by both Al and Mn stresses, while 2280 and 1957 DEGs were exclusively regulated by Al stress and Mn stress, respectively. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that cell wall metabolism responds exclusively to Al, while nicotianamine synthesis exclusively responds to Mn. Pathways such as signaling, phenylpropanoid metabolism, and metal ion transport showed commonality and specificity to Al and Mn. Transcription factors (TFs), such as MYB, WRKY, and AP2 families, were also regulated by Al and Mn, and a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified PODP7, VATB2, and ABCC3 as the hub genes for Al tolerance and NAS for Mn tolerance. The identified genes and pathways can be used as targets for pyramiding genes and breeding multi-tolerant varieties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research in Wheat Genome and Breeding)

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17 pages, 2098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wheat Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Remobilisation under Water Deficit by 1-FEH w3

by Nusrat Khan, Jingjuan Zhang, Shahidul Islam, Rudi Appels and Bernard Dell

Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2023, 45(8), 6634-6650; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cimb45080419 - 11 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1219

Abstract

Fructan 1-exohydrolase (1-FEH) is one of the major enzymes in water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) remobilisation for grains in wheat. We investigated the functional role of 1-FEH w1, w2, and w3 isoforms in WSC remobilisation under post-anthesis water deficit using mutation lines derived from the Australian wheat variety Chara. F1 seeds, developed by backcrossing the 1-FEH w1, w2, and w3 mutation lines with Chara, were genotyped using the Infinium 90K SNP iSelect platform to characterise the mutated region. Putative deletions were identified in FEH mutation lines encompassing the FEH genomic regions. Mapping analysis demonstrated that mutations affected significantly longer regions than the target FEH gene regions. Functional roles of the non-target genes were carried out utilising bioinformatics and confirmed that the non-target genes were unlikely to confound the effects considered to be due to the influence of 1-FEH gene functions. Glasshouse experiments revealed that the 1-FEH w3 mutation line had a slower degradation and remobilisation of fructans than the 1-FEH w2 and w1 mutation lines and Chara, which reduced grain filling and grain yield. Thus, 1-FEH w3 plays a vital role in reducing yield loss under drought. This insight into the distinct role of the 1-FEH isoforms provides new gene targets for water-deficit-tolerant wheat breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research in Wheat Genome and Breeding)

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