Quantitative Trait Loci Associated with Phenological Development,Low-Temperature Tolerance,Grain Quality,and Agronomic Characters in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Plants must respond to environmental cues and schedule their development in order to react to periods of abiotic stress and commit fully to growth and reproduction under favorable conditions. This study was initiated to identify SNP markers for characters expressed from the seedling stage to plant maturity in spring and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes adapted to western Canada. Three doubled haploid populations with the winter cultivar ‘Norstar’ as a common parent were developed and genotyped with a 90K Illumina iSelect SNP assay and a 2,998.9 cM consensus map with 17,541 markers constructed. High heritability’s reflected large differences among the parents and relatively low genotype by environment interactions for all characters considered. Significant QTL were detected for the 15 traits examined. However, different QTL for days to heading in controlled environments and the field provided a strong reminder that growth and development are being orchestrated by environmental cues and caution should be exercised when extrapolating conclusions from different experiments. A QTL on chromosome 6A for minimum final leaf number, which determines the rate of phenological development in the seedling stage, was closely linked to QTL for low-temperature tolerance, grain quality, and agronomic characters expressed up to the time of maturity. This suggests phenological development plays a critical role in programming subsequent outcomes for many traits. Transgressive segregation was observed for the lines in each population and QTL with additive effects were identified suggesting that genes for desirable traits could be stacked using Marker Assisted Selection. QTL were identified for characters that could be transferred between the largely isolated western Canadian spring and winter wheat gene pools demonstrating the opportunities offered by Marker Assisted Selection to act as bridges in the identification and transfer of useful genes among related genetic islands while minimizing the drag created by less desirable genes.     

Predicted impact of exotic vines on an endangered ecological community under future climate change

Potential interactions between climate change and exotic plant invasions may affect areas of high conservation value, such as land set aside for the protection of endangered species or ecological communities. We investigated this issue in eastern Australia using species distribution models for five exotic vines under climate regimes for 2020 and 2050. We examined how projected changes in the distribution of climatically suitable habitat may coincide with the remaining remnants of an endangered ecological community—littoral rainforests—in this region. The number of known infestations of each weed in tropical, subtropical and temperate areas was used to assess the likelihood of further expansion into areas projected to provide suitable habitat under future conditions. Littoral rainforest reserves were consistently predicted to provide bioclimatically suitable habitat for the five vines examined under both current and future climate scenarios. We explore the consequences and potential strategies for managing exotic plant invasions in these protected areas in the coming decades.