Karyotype establishment and development of specific molecular markers of Aegilops geniculata Roth based on SLAF-seq

The constant evolution of pathogens poses a threat to wheat resistance against diseases,endangering food security.Developing resistant wheat varieties is the most practical approach for circumventing this problem.As a close relative of wheat,Aegilops geniculata,particularly accession SY159,has evolved numerous beneficial traits that could be applied to improve wheat.In this study,we established the karyotype of SY159 by fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)using the oligonucleotide probes Oligo-pTa535 and Oligo-pSc119.2 and a complete set of wheat–Ae.geniculata accession TA2899 addition lines as a reference.Using specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing(SLAF-seq)technology,400 specific markers were established for detecting the SY159 chromosomes with efficiencies reaching 81.5%.The SY159-specific markers were used to classify the different homologous groups of SY159 against the wheat-Ae.geniculata addition lines.We used these specific markers on the 7Mg chromosome after classification,and successfully confirmed their suitability for studying the different chromosomes of SY159.This study provides a foundation for accelerating the application of SY159 in genetic breeding programs designed to improve wheat.

Selection and application of four QTLs for grain protein content in modern wheat cultivars

The grain protein content(GPC)is the key parameter for wheat grain nutritional quality.This study conducted a resampling GWAS analysis using 406 wheat accessions across eight environments,and identified four previously reported GPC QTLs.An analysis of 87 landraces and 259 modern cultivars revealed the loss of superior GPC haplotypes,especially in Chinese cultivars.These haplotypes were preferentially adopted in different agroecological zones and had broad effects on wheat yield and agronomic traits.Most GPC QTLs did not significantly reduce yield,suggesting that high GPC can be achieved without a yield penalty.The results of this study provide a reference for future GPC breeding in wheat using the four identified QTLs.

A necessary considering factor for breeding:growth-defense tradeoff in plants

Crop diseases cause enormous yield losses and threaten global food security.Deployment of resistant cultivars can effectively control the disease and to minimize crop losses.However,high level of genetic immunity to disease was often accompanied by an undesired reduction in crop growth and yield.Recently,literatures have been rapidly emerged in understanding the mechanism of disease resistance and development genes in crop plants.To determine how and why the costs and the likely benefit of resistance genes caused in crop varieties,we re-summarized the present knowledge about the crosstalk between plant development and disease resistance caused by those genes that function as plasma membrane residents,MAPK cassette,nuclear envelope(NE)channels components and pleiotropic regulators.Considering the growth-defense tradeoffs on the basis of current advances,finally,we try to understand and suggest that a reasonable balancing strategies based on the interplay between immunity with growth should be considered to enhance immunity capacity without yield penalty in future crop breeding.