Effects of specific Rht and Ppd alleles on agronomic traits in winter wheat cultivars grown in middle Europe

Abstract

Based on studies of the distribution of alleles at the important Rht and Ppd loci on wheat chromosomes 4B, 4D and 2D, different groups of winter wheat cultivars registered in the Czech and Slovak Republics during the period 1976-2007 were examined for a range of agronomic traits using official data from multi-location trials. Significant variation for all traits was detected among and between genotype groups. The frequent introduction of 'Rht-D1b' cultivars from the UK and Western Europe to the Czech Republic since 1995 has positively influenced lodging resistance and undoubtedly also yielding ability, but negatively affected winter-hardiness and bread making quality. An improved opportunity for earlier flowering cultivars with high winter-hardiness levels, in combination with high bread-making quality, can be obtained with genotypes carrying the Xgwm261 allele 192-bp that is probably indicative of the presence of Rht8. While GA insensitive Rht genes caused approximately a 10 cm reduction of plant height, the 192-bp allele at Xgwm261 was not associated, in these conditions, with a significant reduction in plant height when compared to Xgwm261 alleles 165-and 174-bp. Likewise, the photoperiod insensitive allele Ppd-D1a did not have a significant effect on plant height and it had not adversely affected other characters. Later heading genotypes carrying Xgwm261 alleles174-and 165-bp, often in combination with Ppd-D1b, could probably guarantee broader adaptability, which is highly desirable for changeable weather conditions. While the presence of the 192-bp allele was clearly associated with suitability for cultivation in the warmer maize growing regions, this was not so obvious for Ppd-D1a, particularly when combined with the 174-bp allele. GA responsive genes did not, apparently, influence adaptability to the different growing conditions. These studies reveal that there were both shortcomings and benefits attributable to the use of germplasm from different origins when introducing Rht and Ppd alleles. These results should be helpful to breeders in optimizing the choice of parents for crossing, and selection strategy in these target environments.

Molecular Markers Linked to Important Genes in Hard Winter Wheat

“…Wsm1 was located on chromosome translocation 4DL.4AgS. A marker STSJ15 with the target polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragment of 241 bp is diagnostic for this gene (Seifers et al, 2007; Talbert et al, 1996). Several new markers based on expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences from wheat chromosome 4DS were reported (Qi et al, 2007) and the STS marker XBG263898 is also used to screen for Wsm1 .…”

“…This line carries Wsm2 , which is closely linked to Xbarc102 at 2.4 cM distance (Lu et al, 2011, 2012). Wsm2 has been deployed in wheat cultivars RonL and Snowmass (Haley et al, 2011; Seifers et al, 2007). Wsm1 also confers resistance to Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV), but Wsm2 does not (Lu et al, 2011; Martin et al, 2006).…”

Genetic diversity of old bread wheat germplasm from the Black Sea region evaluated by microsatellites and agronomic traits

“…In the case of locus Xgwm 261 on 2DS, this could be explained by selection pressure for genomic regions associated with flowering time and/or yield-related traits. The Xgwm 261 165–174 alleles often in combination with the Ppd-D1b gene for day-length response in later heading genotypes could probably guarantee wider adaptability (Šíp et al , 2010).…”

Allele mining of TaGRF-2D gene 5’-UTR in Triticum aestivum and Aegilops tauschii genotypes

“…Dwarf and semi-dwarf wheat plants carrying the alleles of Rht genes conferring dwarf phenotypes have lower protein content than plants of the wild-type genotype [15][16][17]. Plants of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) having the Rht-B1b allele and genetically modified with the GRF4ngr2 allele from rice showed a higher rate of nitrate ion uptake, an increased diameter and wall thickness of a culm (while keeping its dwarfism), with an increased number of grains per spike compared to the initial wheat plant [14].…”