Effect of the 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocation on the androgenic response in spring bread wheat

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of the 1BL.1RS wheat-rye-translocation on the androgenic response in spring bread wheat. Therefore, four bread wheat cultivars carrying the translocation, four Greek and three Canadian bread wheat cultivars without the translocation were used. An equal number of anthers from each cultivar, containing microspores in the mid (MU) to late uninucleate (LU) microspore developmental stage, were cultured after cold pre-treatment for seven days at 4°C. W14, 190-2 and the basic MS were used as induction, regeneration, and rooting media respectively. The best androgenic response was recorded in two cultivars carrying the translocation. Only two cultivars lacking the translocation responded to anther culture. It is concluded that the positive effect of the 1BL.1RS translocation on anther culture response of bread wheat cultivars cannot be attributed entirely to its presence because the genetic background of the cultivars carrying the translocation could be also important.     

Cytogenetic characteristics of wheat lines with modified 1RS.1BL rye-wheat translocation

The higher frequency (almost 90%) of inheritance through pollen of heterozygous hybrids has been shown for the modified 1RS.1BL translocation compared with the 1BL telocentric, and, as a result, the segregations at the Gli-B1 and Glu-B1 loci strongly deviated from the expected values. The distance between the Glu-B1 locus and the centromere was 15.7–24.4 cM. Products of the 1RS_m.1BL translocation “misdivision” were observed at a frequency of 0.05%. Both the Pavon MA1 lines and the winter wheat line with the 1RS_m.1BL _al translocation have shown a significant decrease in the level of homologous chromosome pairing, causing aneuploidy. These lines did not contain any reciprocal translocations with respect to the Kuyal’nik cultivar. A “hybrid desynapsis” has been observed in F₁ hybrids (Kuyal’nik × Pavon MA1) in contrast to analogous hybrids from a winter line by the 1RS_m.1BL _al type. No single case of the 21_Closed ^II formation has been observed among the studied 693 pollen mother cells (PMCs), which would have indicated the presence of pairing between the short arms of the 1RS_m.1BL translocations and the intact chromosome 1B.     

Conjugation of the 1BL/1RS translocation with qualitative and quantitative traits in the common wheat T.aestivum

The review considers the effect of the rye 1BL/1RS translocation in the common wheat genome on qualitative and quantitative traits: grain quality, resistance to diseases, productivity and adaptivity, parthenogenesis, regeneration in anther culture, frequency of chromosome aberrations and frequency of cross-pollination. Data on special features of transmission of the 1BL/1RS translocation through male and female gametes are presented.     

Transfer of the 1BL/1RS wheat-rye-translocation from hexaploid bread wheat to tetraploid durum wheat

Summary The present study describes a cytological stable alien chromosome translocation in tetraploid durum wheat. By crossing the hexaploid 1BL/1RS wheat-rye translocation line Veery to the tetraploid durum wheat cultivar Cando it was possible to select a 28 chromosomic strain homozygous for the 1BL/1RS translocation. The disease resistance potential of the short arm of rye chromosome 1R, which has been widely introduced in many hexaploid bread wheat cultivars could be now also used for the improvement of durum wheat.     

1BL/1RS translocation in durum wheat and its effect on end use quality traits

The gluten proteins document the genotypic identity of a wheat variety, in addition to providing valuable clues about its ancestry and technological properties. In this study, an Indian durum wheat genotype B662 was identified to carry 1BL/1RS translocation and characterized further for its effect on end use quality traits. Comparison of the end use quality traits of B662 with five other durum cultivars without 1BL/1RS, showed decreased gluten content, lower swelling index of glutenins and low MSDS-SV indicating that, B662 with 1BL/1RS is not good for pasta making. In F_2:3 seeds from a durum wheat cross between the 1BL/1RS cultivar B662 and HI8498 without the translocation, the secalin Sec-1 loci segregated in theoretically expected 3:1 proportion and were inherited as a block of the rye chromosome arm. The analysis of F_2:3 harvests for the two most important durum wheat quality tests showed that the presence of 1BL/1RS translocation did not alter the grain protein content values, but was associated with significant reduction of micro SDS-sedimentation volume indicating inferior quality, thus limiting the commercial exploitation of durum wheat genotypes with 1BL/1RS translocation. The cautious use of rye translocation in Indian durum wheat breeding is suggested.     

Characteristics of common wheat cultivars of West Siberia carrying the wheat-rye 1RS.1BL translocation

Using genomic in situ hybidization, among the common wheat cultivars produced in West Siberia (Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture, Omsk) with the involvement of the winter wheat cultivar Kavkaz carrying the wheat-rye 1RS.1BL translocation we identified three cultivars with this translocation: Omskaya 29, Omskaya 37, and Omskaya 38. The protein and crude gluten contents in the grain of these cultivars are equal to or exceed the levels observed in cultivars without the wheat-rye translocation. The common wheat cultivars carrying the wheat-rye translocation were evaluated in terms of resistance of plants reaching wax ripeness to leaf rust and powdery mildew in the natural field conditions. The cultivars Omskaya 37 and Omskaya 38 displayed a high field resistance to leaf rust and were resistant to a variable extent to powdery mildew. The cultivar Omskaya 29 was susceptible to leaf rust and powdery mildew pathogens. Importance of the selection direction and the role of the genetic background in developing common wheat cultivars carrying the wheat-rye translocation is discussed.     

Identification and molecular characterization of the nicotianamine synthase gene family in bread wheat

Nicotianamine (NA) is a non‐protein amino acid involved in fundamental aspects of metal uptake, transport and homeostasis in all plants and constitutes the biosynthetic precursor of mugineic acid family phytosiderophores (MAs) in graminaceous plant species. Nicotianamine synthase (NAS) genes, which encode enzymes that synthesize NA from S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine (SAM), are differentially regulated by iron (Fe) status in most plant species and plant genomes have been found to contain anywhere from 1 to 9 NAS genes. This study describes the identification of 21 NAS genes in the hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome and their phylogenetic classification into two distinct clades. The TaNAS genes are highly expressed during germination, seedling growth and reproductive development. Fourteen of the clade I NAS genes were up‐regulated in root tissues under conditions of Fe deficiency. Protein sequence analyses revealed the presence of endocytosis motifs in all of the wheat NAS proteins as well as chloroplast, mitochondrial and secretory transit peptide signals in four proteins. These results greatly expand our knowledge of NAS gene families in graminaceous plant species as well as the genetics underlying Fe nutrition in bread wheat.     

Effect of the 1BL.1RS translocation on the wheat endosperm, as revealed by proteomic analysis

The introduction of the 1RS chromosome of rye into wheat made wheat more resistant to several pathogens. Today, this resistance has been overcome but the 1BL.1RS translocation remains interesting because of the improved yield and despite the lower rheological properties it produces. Nothing has been reported yet on the impact of rye chromatin introgression on the grain proteome of wheat. The comparison of the 2-DE profiles of 16 doubled haploid lines, with or without the 1BL.1RS translocation, revealed quantitative and qualitative proteic variations in prolamins and other endosperm proteins. Eight spots were found specifically in lines having the 1BL.1RS translocation; 16 other spots disappeared from the same lines. Twelve spots, present in both genotypes, met the criteria for up- or down-regulated spots. In translocated genotypes, a highly overexpressed spot, identified as a gamma-gliadin with nine cysteine residues, suggests that the lack of LMW-GS induced by 1BL.1RS is counterbalanced by an overexpression of a relatively similar prolamin. Moreover, a spot that was absent from 1BL.1RS genotypes was identified as a dimeric alpha-amylase inhibitor. It was considered to be a valuable candidate to explain the sticky dough associated with translocated cultivars.     

Reconstruction in wheat of complete chromosomes 1B and 1R from the 1RS.1BL translocation of 'Kavkaz' origin.

Translocation 1RS.1BL originally from the 'Aurora' and 'Kavkaz' wheats has spread to bread wheats all over the world. It offers several resistance genes and appears to significantly increase yields. For future study of the arm location of the yield-increasing factors, complete chromosomes 1B and 1R were reconstructed from the 1RS.1BL translocation. This was accomplished by centric misdivision and fusion in double monosomies 20 II + 1RS.1BL I + 1BS.1RL I. The frequency of misdivision and misdivision-fusion of the two unpaired chromosomes was 23.1%, which was much higher than expected but comparable with that observed in other stocks grown under similar conditions. Transmission of the reconstructed chromosomes to progeny was normal. In addition to all possible misdivision and misdivision-fusion products, two chromosomes of ambiguous origin were recovered: chromosome 1B with a proximal insert of about 40% of 1RS and chromosome 1R with a proximal insert of about 30% of 1BS. The study demonstrates that centric translocations can misdivide and fuse again to produce stable chromosomes with new arm combinations.     

Production of a new wheat line possessing the 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocation derived from Korean rye cultivar Paldanghomil

The 1BL.1RS translocations between wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rye (Secale cereale L.) are widely used in bread wheat breeding programs, but all modern wheat cultivars with the 1BL.1RS have shown genetic vulnerability due to one rye source – a German cultivar, Petkus. We have developed, a new 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocation line from the backcross of the F₁ hybrid of wheat cv. Olmil and rye cv. Paldanghomil, both cultivars from Korea. The GISH technique was applied to identify the presence of rye chromatin in 467 BC₁F₆ lines selected from 77 BC₁F₅ lines. Only one line, Yw62–11, showed wheat-rye translocated chromosomes, with a somatic chromosome number of 2n=42. C-banding patterns revealed that the translocated chromosome was 1BL.1RS, showing prominent bands in the terminal and sub-terminal regions of the short arm as well as in the centromeric region and terminal region of the long arm. This new 1BL.1RS translocation line formed 21 bivalents like common wheat at meiotic metaphase I, thereby showing complete homology. Received: 28 February 2001 / Accepted: 17 April 2001     

Distribution of 1AL.1RS and 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocations in Triticum aestivum using specific PCR

Chromosome arm 1RS of rye (Secale cereale) is a valuable resource for wheat (Triticum aestivum) improvement. 1AL.1RS and 1BL.1RS translocations play an important role in wheat breeding, since wheat carrying these chromosomal translocations has higher tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. In this study, the presence of 1RS and the distribution of 1AL.1RS and 1BL.1RS wheat-rye translocations were examined in 66 Iranian cultivars and 70 regional foreign accessions of bread wheat, using three rye-specific primers (“RYER3/F3”, “O-SEC5′-A/O-SEC3′-R”, “PAWS5/S6”). Based on “RyeR3/F3”, the presence of 1RS was verified in 15 (23%) Iranian cultivars and in two (3%) foreign accessions. Further, “O-SEC5′-A/O-SEC3′-R” and “PAWS5/S6” were used to distinguish 1AL.1RS and 1BL.1RS translocations. According to results from these primers, 1BL.1RS was identified in 14 (21%) Iranian cultivars and two (3%) foreign accessions. The results confirm that “Sholeh” is the only cultivar (1.5%), among all cultivars and accessions, that carries 1AL.1RS. This study provides a useful tool in marker-assisted selection of materials containing 1RS, and in the creation of new Iranian common wheat cultivars with a larger genetic diversity in wheat breeding programs.     

The molecular characterization of maize B chromosome specific AFLPs

INTRODUCTIONB chromosomes (Bs) are also called supernumer-ary chromosomes, accessory chromosomes or extrachromosomes. They are supernumerary to the stan-dard chromosome (A chromosomes) set, which arefound in hundreds of plants and animals. They areoften morphologicaIly distinct from A chromosomes,being sma1ler and more highly heterochromatic inmost cases. B chromosomes are inherited in a non-Mendelian wap They dO not pair with A chromo-somes, and exhibite meiotic and mitotic instabiIit…     

Development of a wheat genotype combining the recessive crossability alleles kr1kr1kr2kr2 and the 1BL.1RS translocation, for the rapid enrichment of 1RS with new allelic variation

The main objective of the present work was to develop a wheat genotype containing both the recessive crossability alleles (kr1kr1kr2kr2), allowing high crossability between 6x wheat and diploid rye, and the 1BL.1RS wheat/rye translocation chromosome. This wheat genotype could be used as a recipient partner in wheat–rye crosses for the efficient introduction of new allelic variation into 1RS in translocation wheats. After crossing the wheat cultivars ‘Mv Magdaléna’ and ‘Mv Béres’, which carry the 1BL.1RS translocation involving the 1RS chromosome arm from ‘Petkus’, with the line ‘Mv9 kr1’, 117 F₂ plants were analysed for crossability, ten of which had higher than 50% seed set with rye and thus presumably carried the kr1kr1kr2kr2 alleles. Four of the ten plants contained the 1BL.1RS translocation in the disomic condition as detected by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). The wheat × rye F₁ hybrids produced between these lines and the rye cultivar ‘Kriszta’ were analysed in meiosis using GISH. 1BL.1RS/1R chromosome pairing was detected in 62.4% of the pollen mother cells. The use of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with the repetitive DNA probes pSc119.2, Afa family and pTa71 allowed the 1R and 1BL.1RS chromosomes to be identified. The presence of the 1RS arm from ‘Kriszta’ besides that of ‘Petkus’ was demonstrated in the F₁ hybrids using the rye SSR markers RMS13 and SCM9. In four of the 22 BC₁ progenies analysed, only ‘Kriszta’-specific bands were observed with these markers, though the presence of the 1BL.1RS translocation was detected using GISH. It can be concluded that recombination occurred between the ‘Petkus’ and ‘Kriszta’ 1RS chromosome arms in the translocated chromosome in these plants.     

Cytological characterization,powdery mildew resistance and storage protein composition of tetraploid and hexaploid 1BL/1RS wheat-rye translocation lines

Summary Progenies of a tetraploid 1BL/1RS wheat-rye translocation line, CV 256, selected from the cross Cando x Veery, were analyzed by means of Giemsa C-banding. CV 256 is cytologically stable for the presence of the 1BL/1RS translocation but still segregating for A- and B-genome chromosomes of Cando and Veery. In CV 256, nucleolar activity of the 1RS NOR locus is suppressed, as judged by the absence of a secondary constriction in that rye segment and the capability of organizing nucleoli. PAGE analysis of prolamins confirmed the presence of two 1RS secalins in all single seeds analyzed. SDS-PAGE analysis of reduced glutenins of single seeds indicated that some seeds contained the Cando Glu-B1 locus (subunits 6+8), some contained the Veery Glu-B1 locus (subunits 7+9) while others contained all four subunits, indicating that the material was heterozygous. Pm8 resistance is expressed in the tetraploid 1BL/1RS translocation line based on the reactions of six well-defined powdery mildew isolates. However, Pm8 resistance is not expressed in the hexaploid wheat cultivars Olymp, Heinrich and Florida, which also contain the 1BL/1RS translocation. Obviously, the existence of the 1BL/1RS translocation is not a proof for the expression of the associated genes. PAGE results did not show a clear linkage between powdery mildew resistance and the presence of 1RS secalins.     

Morphological, yield, cytological and molecular characterization of a bread wheat X tritordeum F1 hybrid

The morphological, yield, cytological and molecular characteristics of bread wheat X tritordeum F₁ hybrids (2n =6x = 42; AABBDH^ch) and their parents were analysed. Morphologically, these hybrids resembled the wheat parent. They were slightly bigger than both parents, had more spikelets per spike, and tillered more profusely. The hybrids are self-fertile but a reduction of average values of yield parameters was observed. For the cytological approach we used a double-target fluorescencein situ hybridization performed with total genomic DNA fromHordeum chilense L. and the ribosomal sequence pTa71. This technique allowed us to confirm the hybrid nature and to analyse chromosome pairing in this material. Our results showed that the expected complete homologous pairing (14 bivalents plus 14 univalents) was only observed in 9.59% of the pollen mother cells (PMCs) analysed. Some PMCs presented autosyndetic pairing of Hch and A, B or D chromosomes. The average number of univalents was higher in the wheat genome (6.8) than in the Hch genome (5.4). The maximum number of univalents per PMC was 20. We only observed wheat multivalents (one per PMC) but the frequency of trivalents (0.08) was higher than that of quadrivalents (0.058). We amplified 50 RAPD bands polymorphic between the F₁ hybrid and one of its parents, and 31 ISSR polymorphic bands. Both sets of markers proved to be reliable for DNA fingerprinting. The complementary use of morphological and yield analysis, molecular cytogenetic techniques and molecular markers allowed a more accurate evaluation and characterization of the hybrids analysed here.     

A gene from the Sec2 (Gli-R2) locus of a wheat 2RS.2BL chromosomal translocation line

A genomic DNA clone coding for a rye secalin gene (gSec2A) was isolated from a wheat translocation line carrying the 2RS.2BL chromosome, using a previously identified partial secalin (Sec2) cDNA clone as a probe. The predicted N-terminal amino-acid sequence of the gSec2A gene was identical to the N-terminal sequence obtained for Sec2 polypeptide bands isolated from SDS-PAGE gels. Bacterially expressed gSec2A protein was identical in size to that of the smallest Sec2 polypeptide band observed on SDS PAGE gels and is recognized by a monoclonal antibody specific for Mr 75000 2RS γ-secalins. Overall, the predicted protein sequence of gSec2A was most similar (50%) to the family of γ-gliadins and consists of a short N-terminal region containing one cysteine residue followed by a glutamine/proline-rich repetitive domain and a long C-terminal domain containing eight cysteine residues. The repetitive domain can be divided into two regions. One region coded for 15 units, each consisting of eight amino acids similar in sequence to that found in the ω-secalins and C-hordeins. The second region coded for 17 units each consisting of a sequence of 7–10 amino acids similar to that observed in γ-gliadins. Received: 31 February 2000 / Accepted: 21 May 2000     

Detection of genetic diversity in closely related bread wheat using microsatellite markers

Wheat microsatellites (WMS) were used to estimate the extent of genetic diversity among 40 wheat cultivars and lines, including mainly European elite material. The 23 WMS used were located on 15 different chromosomes, and revealed a total of 142 alleles. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 16, with an average of 6.2 alleles per WMS. The average dinucleotide repeat number ranged from 13 to 41. The correlation coefficient between the number of alleles and the average number of repeats was only slight (r _s = 0.55). Based on percentage difference a dendrogram is presented, calculated by the WMS-derived data. All but two of the wheat cultivars and lines could be distinguished. Some of the resulting groups are strongly related to the pedigrees of the appropriate cultivars. Values for co-ancestry (f) of 179 pairs of cultivars related by their pedigrees (f0.1) averaged 0.29. Genetic similarity (GS) based on WMS of the same pairs averaged 0.44. The rank correlation for these pairs was slight, with r _s = 0.55, but highly significant (P<0.001). The results suggest that a relatively small number of microsatellites can be used for the estimation of genetic diversity and cultivar identification in elite material of hexaploid bread wheat.     

Characterization of some bread wheat genotypes using molecular markers for drought tolerance

Because of its wide geographical adaptation and importance in human nutrition, wheat is one of the most important crops in the world. However, wheat yield has reduced due to drought stress posing threat to sustainability and world food security in agricultural production. The first stage of drought tolerant variety breeding occurs on the molecular and biochemical characterization and classification of wheat genotypes. The aim of the present study is characterization of widely grown bread wheat cultivars and breeding lines for drought tolerance so as to be adapted to different regions in Turkey. The genotypes were screened with molecular markers for the presence of QTLs mapped to different chromosomes. Results of the molecular studies identified and detected 15 polymorphic SSR markers which gave the clearest PCR bands among the control genotypes. At the end of the research, bread wheat genotypes which were classified for tolerance or sensitivity to drought and the genetic similarity within control varieties were determined by molecular markers. According to SSR based dendrogram, two main groups were obtained for drought tolerance. At end of the molecular screening with SSR primers, genetic similarity coefficients were obtained that ranged from 0.14 to 0.71. The ones numbered 8 and 11 were the closest genotypes to drought tolerant cultivar Gerek 79 and the furthest genotypes from this cultivar were number 16 and to drought sensitive cultivar Sultan 95. The genotypes as drought tolerance due to their SSR markers scores are expected to provide useful information for drought related molecular breeding studies.