Genome-Wide Association Study of Morpho-Physiological Traits in Aegilops tauschii to Broaden Wheat Genetic Diversity

Aegilops tauschii, the D-genome donor of bread wheat, is a storehouse of genetic diversity that can be used for wheat improvement. This species consists of two main lineages (TauL1 and TauL2) and one minor lineage (TauL3). Its morpho-physiological diversity is large, with adaptations to a wide ecological range. Identification of allelic diversity in Ae. tauschii is of utmost importance for efficient breeding and widening of the genetic base of wheat. This study aimed at identifying markers or genes associated with morpho-physiological traits in Ae. tauschii, and at understanding the difference in genetic diversity between the two main lineages. We performed genome-wide association studies of 11 morpho-physiological traits of 343 Ae. tauschii accessions representing the entire range of habitats using 34,829 DArTseq markers. We observed a wide range of morpho-physiological variation among all accessions. We identified 23 marker–trait associations (MTAs) in all accessions, 15 specific to TauL1 and eight specific to TauL2, suggesting independent evolution in each lineage. Some of the MTAs could be novel and have not been reported in bread wheat. The markers or genes identified in this study will help reveal the genes controlling the morpho-physiological traits in Ae. tauschii, and thus in bread wheat even if the plant morphology is different

Traits to Differentiate Lineages and Subspecies of Aegilops tauschii, the D Genome Progenitor Species of Bread Wheat

Aegilops tauschii Coss., the D genome donor of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), is the most promising resource used to broaden the genetic diversity of wheat. Taxonomical studies have classified Ae. tauschii into two subspecies, ssp. tauschii and ssp. strangulata. However, molecular analysis revealed three distantly related lineages, TauL1, TauL2 and TauL3. TauL1 and TauL3 includes the only ssp. tauschii, whereas TauL2 includes both subspecies. This study aimed to clarify the phylogeny of Ae. tauschii and to find the traits that can differentiate between TauL1, TauL2 and TauL3, or between ssp. tauschii and ssp. strangulata. We studied the genetic and morpho-physiological diversity in 293 accessions of Ae. tauschii, covering the entire range of the species. A total of 5880 high-quality SNPs derived from DArTseq were used for phylogenetic cluster analyses. As a result, we observed wide morpho-physiological variation in each lineage and subspecies. Despite this variation, no key traits can discriminate lineages or subspecies though some traits were significantly different. Of 124 accessions previously lacking the passport data, 66 were allocated to TauL1, 57 to TauL2, and one to TauL3

Responses of Three Wheat Genotypes to High Soil Temperature during Grain Filling

High temperatures limit wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in many areas around the world. Soil temperatures near the root zone could be as high as the air temperature during wheat grain filling. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of high soil temperature on grain yield and related traits of wheat genotypes and to examine their differential responses. Three genotypes, Imam, Fang and Siete Cerros were grown under three temperature conditions in the daytime during grain-filling period: (i) normal air temperature/normal soil temperature (26/26°C), (ii) normal air temperature/high soil temperature (26/38°C) and (iii) high air temperature/high soil temperature (38/38°C). The night temperature was 18/18°C in all treatments. Temperatures during the daytime were increased at a rate of 4°C hr-1 from 18°C to the designated temperature, which was kept for at least 4 hr around noon. The 26/38°C and 38/38°C treatments significantly decreased the chlorophyll content (SPAD) of flag leaves, grain-filling duration, and increased carbohydrate remobilization or loss from the stem and the root, but with varying degrees among genotypes. Grain yield, biomass, grain weight, grains number spike-1 and harvest index at the 38/38°C treatment were significantly lower than at the other two treatments. In Imam, the grain yield was lower at 26/38°C than at 26/26°C, while in Siete Cerros the grain yield, grain weight, grain number spike-1 and harvest index were lower at the 38/38°C treatment than at the other two treatments. These results indicated that high temperature of soil alone (26/38°C) or high temperature of both air and soil (38/38°C) decreased the chlorophyll content and grain-filling duration, and increased carbohydrate remobilization. Genotypic differences in the responses to high soil temperature (26/38°C) and high air/soil temperature (38/38°C) were also observed

Physiological Response of Three Wheat Cultivars to High Shoot and Root Temperatures during Early Growth Stages

Understanding wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) response to high shoot/root temperature during the early growth stages is important for successful production in tropical and subtropical environments. This study examined the physiological response of wheat cultivars to high shoot and/or root temperatures during early growth stages. Three cultivars; Imam, Fang and Siete Cerros were grown in soil and hydroponically at three shoot/root temperatures (23/23, 23/35 and 35/35ºC for the soil experiment; and 22/22, 22/38 and 38/38ºC for the hydroponic experiment). Leaf dry weight and leaf area plant-1 were significantly decreased by high shoot/ root temperature (HS/HR, 35/35 and 38/38ºC) but was not affected by a normal shoot/high root temperature (NS/HR, 23/35 and 22/38ºC). The NS/HR (22/38ºC) and HS/HR (38/38ºC) treatments in the hydroponic experiment significantly decreased photosystem II quantum yield ( Φpsii), photosynthetic rate (Pn) and specific leaf area (SLA) compared with the normal shoot/normal root (NS/NR, 22/22ºC) temperature treatment. Chlorophyll accumulation was significantly decreased by NS/HR, but increased significantly by HS/HR in most of the measuring dates. The heat-tolerant cultivar, Fang, always had the highest chlorophyll content, Φpsii and Pn under all temperature treatments, while the heat-sensitive cultivar, Siete Cerros, always had the greatest reduction in these traits especially towards the end of the experiment. Imam and Fang responded to HS/HR in the hydroponic experiment by immediate and greater reductions in leaf dry weight, total leaf area and SLA during the first wk of the treatments compared with Siete Cerros. The response changed with the treatments duration such that Imam showed the least reduction and Siete Cerros was the most affected cultivar towards the end of the experiment. Thus, wheat cultivars differentially responded to high shoot/root temperature by reducing the leaf weight and area and hence accumulating more chlorophyll in the diminished leaves. The failure to undergo such changes led to significantly lower chlorophyll accumulation, Φpsii and Pn under high root temperature

Genetic Gain in Wheat Grain Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency at Different Nitrogen Levels in an Irrigated Hot Environment

Improved nitrogen use-efficient cultivars could be the most economically beneficial and environmentally friendly approach to reduce pollution associated with excessive N fertilization. The performance and genetic gain in grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of a historical set of 12 bread wheat cultivars released for a heat-stressed environment were investigated at four N levels (0 (N0), 43 (N43), 86 (N86), and 129 (N129) kg/ha) for two seasons. Averaged across seasons, increasing N level from N0 to N43, N86, and N129 resulted in yield increases ranging from 4−45%, 13–69%, and 34–87% at N43, N86, and N129, respectively. These yield increases were associated with increases in biomass (r = 0.86, P<0.01). Regressing grain yield of cultivars released during 1960 to 2006 against the year of release showed no trend at N0 and positive nonsignificant trends at N43;. however, significant positive trends were found at N86 and N129 with genetic gain rates of 12.65 and 15.76 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. This gain was associated with progresses in harvest index (HI) at N43, N86, and N129 but not at N0. On the other hand, during the period from 1960 to 1990, the genetic gain in grain yield at N86 was 24.5 kg ha−1 year−1. Regressing NUE against the year of release showed significant linear trends at N86 and N129 (R2 = 0.511 and R2 = 0.477, respectively), but not at N43. The results indicate that breeders improved grain yield and NUE over 46 years under the heat-stressed environment of Sudan although the rate of increase in yield has been slowed down in recent years. Further improvement in NUE might require broadening the genetic diversity and simultaneous evaluation at low and high N levels

Identification of Glu-D1 Alleles and Novel Marker&ndash;Trait Associations for Flour Quality and Grain Yield Traits under Heat-Stress Environments in Wheat Lines Derived from Diverse Accessions of Aegilops tauschii

Heat stress during grain filling is considered one of the major abiotic factors influencing wheat grain yield and quality in arid and semi-arid regions. We studied the effect of heat stress on flour quality and grain yield at moderate and continuous heat stress under natural field conditions using 147 lines of wheat multiple synthetic derivatives (MSD) containing Aegilops tauschii introgressions. The study aimed to identify the marker&ndash;trait associations (MTAs) for the quality traits and grain yield under heat-stress conditions and identify stress-resilient germplasm-combining traits for good flour quality and grain yield. The MSD lines showed considerable genetic variation for quality traits and grain yield under heat-stress conditions; some lines performed better than the recurrent parent, Norin 61. We identified two MSD lines that consistently maintained relative performance (RP) values above 100% for grain yield and dough strength. We found the presence of three high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) at the Glu-D1 locus derived from Ae. tauschii, which were associated with stable dough strength across the four environments used in this study. These HMW-GSs could be potentially useful in applications for future improvements of end-use quality traits targeting wheat under severe heat stress. A total of 19,155 high-quality SNP markers were used for the genome-wide association analysis and 251 MTAs were identified, most of them on the D genome, confirming the power of the MSD panel as a platform for mining and exploring the genes of Ae. tauschii. We identified the MTAs for dough strength under heat stress, which simultaneously control grain yield and relative performance for dough strength under heat-stress/optimum conditions. This study proved that Ae. tauschii is an inexhaustible resource for genetic mining, and the identified lines and pleiotropic MTAs reported in this study are considered a good resource for the development of resilient wheat cultivars that combine both good flour quality and grain yield under stress conditions using marker-assisted selection