Origin and evolution of the bread wheat D genome

Authors: CAVALET-GIORSA, EMILE - King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology; GONZALEZ-MUNOZ, ANDREA - King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology; ATHIYANNAN, NAVEENKUMAR - King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology; HOLDEN, SAMUEL - University Of British Columbia; SALHI, ADIL - King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology; GARDENER, CATHERINE - King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology; RUSTAMOVA, SAMIRA - Azerbaijan Academy Of Sciences; ELKOT, AHMED - Agricultural Research Center Of Egypt; PATPOUR, MEHRAN - Aarhus University; RASHEED, AWAIS - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Kolmer, James; Lazo, Gerard; Xu, Steven; Gu, Yong; Xu, Xiangyang

Submitted to: Nature
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2024
Publication Date: 8/14/2024
Citation: Cavalet-Giorsa, E., Gonzalez-Munoz, A., Athiyannan, N., Holden, S., Salhi, A., Gardener, C., Rustamova, S., Elkot, A.F., Patpour, M., Rasheed, A., Kolmer, J.A., Lazo, G.R., Xu, S.S., Gu, Y.Q., Xu, X., et al. 2024. Origin and evolution of the bread wheat D genome. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07808-z.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07808-z

Interpretive Summary: Wheat is an important crop that is grown widely in the United States and in many world regions. It is an important source of plant based protein for many countries. Wheat yields need to increase in future years in order to meet the caloric demands of expanding populations in many countries. The wild grass species, Aegilops tauschii is an ancestor of wheat, and is found in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East, where wheat originated over 8,000 years ago. In this study, the DNA of a large number of Aegilops tauschii plants collected from different locations was sequenced. The DNA sequences of these accessions were used to establish a library of Aegilops tauschii sequence data that can be used to locate genes that improve wheat yield, disease resistance, and stress tolerance. This information can be to develop molecular markers that will allow these genes to be used by wheat breeding projects to produce new wheat cultivars with higher yield, disease resistance and stress tolerance.

Technical Abstract: Bread wheat is a globally dominant crop and a major source of calories and proteins in human diets. Compared to its wild ancestors, modern bread wheat shows reduced genetic diversity caused by domestication and breeding bottlenecks. The wild wheat relatives represent genetic reservoirs, harboring diversity and beneficial alleles that have not been incorporated into bread wheat. Here, we establish and analyze pangenome resources of Aegilops tauschii, the donor of the bread wheat D genome. The pangenome facilitated the cloning of a disease resistance gene and haplotype analysis across a complex disease resistance locus, allowing to discern alleles from paralogous gene copies. We further reveal the complex genetic composition and history of the bread wheat D genome, involving hitherto unreported contributions of genetically and geographically discrete Aegilops tauschii subpopulations. Together, our results reveal the complex history of the bread wheat D genome and demonstrate the value of wild wheat relatives for bread wheat improvement.