Predominant wheat-alien chromosome translocations in newly developed wheat of China

Authors: WU, NAN - Nanjing Agricultural University; LEI, YANHONG - Nanjing Agricultural University; PEI, DAN - Nanjing Agricultural University; WU, HAO - Nanjing Agricultural University; LIU, XIN - Nanjing Agricultural University; FANG, JIAXIN - Nanjing Agricultural University; GUO, JIANGTAO - Nanjing Agricultural University; WANG, CONGLEI - Nanjing Agricultural University; GUO, JIE - Nanjing Agricultural University; Chu, Chenggen; ZHANG, JINLONG - Nanjing Agricultural University; WEN, MINGXING - Nanjing Agricultural University; YANG, XUEMING - Nanjing Agricultural University; BIE, TONGDE - Nanjing Agricultural University; LIU, AIFENG - Nanjing Agricultural University; ZHOU, BO - Nanjing Agricultural University; CHEN, PEIDU - Nanjing Agricultural University

Submitted to: Molecular Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2021
Publication Date: 4/2/2021
Citation: Wu, N., Lei, Y., Pei, D., Wu, H., Liu, X., Fang, J., Guo, J., Wang, C., Guo, J., Chu, C.N., Zhang, J., Wen, M., Yang, X., Bie, T., Liu, A., Zhou, B., Chen, P. 2021. Predominant wheat-alien chromosome translocations in newly developed wheat of China. Molecular Breeding. 41. Article e30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-021-01206-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-021-01206-3

Interpretive Summary: Chromosome variation in wheat varieties can have large effects in wheat performance. Chromosomal variations that exist widely in wheat varieties will have a higher potential for increasing wheat production and can be selected for in wheat breeding efforts. This study investigated chromosomal variations in wheat varieties that are now popular in China as well as breeding lines that will be released soon in China. Several variations were detected in the majority of wheat lines and thus were considered as the predominant variations in the current and future wheat varieties of China, which indicates that those chromosome variations are very likely beneficial to wheat production in China and need to be incorporated when breeding new varieties. Additionally, this research provided new tools to accurately identify these important chromosomal variations. This research provides important information for selecting predominant chromosome variations for developing high-performing wheat lines.

Technical Abstract: Founder wheat lines have played key role in Chinese wheat improvement. Wheat-Dasypyrum villosum translocation T6VS·6AL has been widely used in wheat breeding in recent years due to its high level of powdery mildew resistance and other beneficial genes. Reference oligo-nucleotide multiplex probe (ONMP)–FISH karyotypes of six T6VS·6AL donor lines were developed and used for characterizing 32 derivative cultivars and lines. T6VS·6AL was present in 27 cultivar/lines with 20 from southern China. Next, ONMP–FISH was used to study chromosome constitution of randomly collected wheat cultivars and advanced breeding lines from southern and northern regions of China: 123 lines from the regional test plots of southern China and 110 from northern China. In southern China, T6VS·6AL (35.8%) was the most predominant variation, while T1RS·1BL (27.3%) was the most predominant in northern China. The pericentric inversion perInv 6B derived from its founder wheat Funo and Abbondaza was the second most predominant chromosome variant in both regions. Other chromosome variants were present in very low frequencies. Additionally, 167 polymorphic chromosome types were identified. Based on these variations, 271 cultivars and lines were clustered into three groups, including southern, northern, and mixed groups that contained wheat from both regions. Different dominant chromosome variations were seen, indicating chromosome differentiation in the three groups of wheat. The clearly identified wheat lines with T6VS·6AL in different backgrounds and oligonucleotide probe set will facilitate their utilization in wheat breeding and in identifying other beneficial traits that may be linked to this translocation.