Ancestral QTL alleles from wild emmer wheat improve grain yield, biomass and photosynthesis across enviroinments in modern wheat. (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Merchuk-Ovnat, Lianne; Fahima, Tzion; Krugman, Tamar; Saranga, Yehoshua
• Is Part Of: Plant science. Volume 251(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 23
• Page End: 34
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: δ13C carbon isotope ratio -- CL culm length -- DP-H days from planting to heading -- FLA flag leaf area -- FL-A370 flag leaf assimilation rate -- G/Sp grain number per spike -- GPC grain protein content -- GY grain yield -- HI harvest index -- ICE instantaneous carboxylation efficiency -- J electron transport rate -- Vcmax maximum velocity of Rubisco for carboxylation -- gm mesophyll conductance -- NIL near-isogenic line -- OP osmotic potential -- qP370 photochemical quenching -- A370 net photosynthetic rate -- Rd day respiration -- Sp/P fertile spikes per plant -- SLW specific leaf weight -- gs370 stomatal conductance -- TGW thousand grain weight -- TotDM total dry matter -- TPU triose phosphate utilization rate -- WUE water use efficiency -- WL water-limited -- WW well-watered; Leaf gas exchange -- Near-isogenic line -- Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides -- Quantitative trait locus -- Water stress -- Water-use efficiency -- Grain yield; Botany -- Periodicals; Botanique -- Périodiques; 580
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2016.05.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-9452

Abstract

Highlights: Near-isogenic line (NIL) carrying wild wheat QTL was compared to recurrent parent. NIL showed improved productivity and water-use efficiency across four environments. NIL showed enhanced photosynthetic capacity. Abstract: Wild emmer wheat ( Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides ) is considered a promising source for improving drought resistance in domesticated wheat. Nevertheless, wild germplasm has not been widely used in wheat breeding for abiotic stress resilience. In the current study, a near isogenic line NIL-7A-B-2, introgressed with a drought-related QTL from wild emmer wheat on chromosome 7A, and its recurrent parent, bread wheat cv. BarNir, were investigated under four environments across 2 years—water-limited and well-watered conditions in a rain-protected screen-house (Year 1) and two commercial open field plots under ample precipitation (Year 2). NIL-7A-B-2 exhibited an advantage over BarNir in grain yield and biomass production under most environments. Further physiological analyses suggested that enhanced photosynthetic capacity and photochemistry combined with higher flag leaf area are among the factors underlying the improved productivity of NIL-7A-B-2. These were coupled with improved sink capacity in NIL-7A-B-2, manifested by greater yield components than its parental line. This study provides further support for our previous findings that introgression of wild emmer QTL alleles, using marker assisted selection, can enhance grain yield and biomass production across environments in domesticated wheat, thereby enriching the modern gene pool with essential diversity for the improvement of yield and drought resistance.