Untitled

Abstract

To adapt to the challenges of climate change and the growing world population, it is vital to increase global crop production. Understanding the function of genes within staple crops will accelerate crop improvement by allowing targeted breeding approaches. Despite the importance of wheat, which provides 20 % of the calories consumed by humankind, a lack of genomic information and resources has hindered the functional characterisation of genes in this species. The recent release of a high-quality reference sequence for wheat underpins a suite of genetic and genomic resources that support basic research and breeding. These include accurate gene model annotations, gene expression atlases and gene networks that provide background information about putative gene function. In parallel, sequenced mutation populations, improved transformation protocols and structured natural populations provide rapid methods to study gene function directly. We highlight a case study exemplifying how to integrate these resources to study gene function in wheat and thereby accelerate improvement in this important crop. We hope that this review provides a helpful guide for plant scientists, especially those expanding into wheat research for the first time, to capitalise on the discoveries made in Arabidopsis and other plants. This will accelerate the improvement of wheat, a complex polyploid crop, of vital importance for food and nutrition security. any plant species, identify the correct wheat ortholog(s) using Ensembl Plants (https://plants.ensembl.org) and determine gene expression using expression browsers and gene networks. Suggestions for functional characterisation are provided including induced variation such as mutants, transgenics or Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGs). In addition, publicly available populations incorporating natural variation are available. Finally steps for growing, genotyping and crossing plants are outlined. Links to detailed tutorials and further information are provided and can be found on www.wheat-training.com. 1