TaMYB72 directly activates the expression of TaFT to promote heading and enhance grain yield traits in wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)is a staple food for approximately half the global population.As the population continues to grow,the demand for high-yielding varieties is increasing(Zorb et al.,2018).Higher yields can be achieved by increasing the number and weight of grains produced and by optimizing heading dates to maximize production in local environments(Sakuma and Schnurbusch,2020).

Genome sequencing of Sitopsis species provides insights into their contribution to the B subgenome of bread wheat

Wheat(Triticum aestivum,BBAADD)is an allohexaploid species that originated from two polyploidization events.The progenitors of the A and D subgenomes have been identified as Triticum urartu and Aegilops tauschii,respectively.Current research suggests that Aegilops speltoides is the closest but not the direct ancestor of the B subgenome.However,whether Ae.speltoides has contributed genomically to the wheat B subgenome and which chromosome regions are conserved between Ae.speltoides and the B subgenome remain unclear.Here,we assembled a high-quality reference genome for Ae.speltoides,resequenced 53 accessions from seven species(Aegilops bicornis,Aegilops longissima,Aegilops searsii,Aegilops sharonensis,Ae.speltoides,Aegilops mutica[syn.Amblyopyrum muticum],and Triticumdicoccoides)and revealed their genomic contributions to the wheat B subgenome.Our results showed that centromeric regions were particularly conserved between Aegilops and Triticum and revealed 0.17 Gb of conserved blocks between Ae.speltoides and the B subgenome.We classified five groups of conserved and non-conserved genes between Aegilops and Triticum,revealing their biological characteristics,differentiation in gene expression patterns,and collinear relationships between Ae.speltoides and the wheat B subgenome.We also identified gene families that expanded in Ae.speltoides during its evolution and 789 genes specific to Ae.speltoides.These genes can serve as genetic resources for improvement of adaptability to biotic and abiotic stress.The newly constructed reference genome and large-scale resequencing data for Sitopsis species will provide a valuable genomic resource for wheat genetic improvement and genomic studies.

WheatGmap:a comprehensive platform for wheat gene mapping and genomic studies

Bulked segregant analysis(BSA)is an efficient and low-cost strategy that is widely used to identify causal genes in segregating populations.BSA-based methods,such as BSA sequencing(Wenger et al.,2010),bulked segregant RNA sequencing(BSR-seq)(del Viso et al.,2012),and MutMap(Abe et al.,2012),are powerful tools that can be used for rapidly discovering genetic markers and gene mapping.Although BSA is increasingly being used in wheat(Triticum aestivum)gene mapping efforts,few user-friendly BSA tools have been developed for researchers lacking a strong bioinformatics background.Here,we developed the web-based BSA platform WheatGmap(https://www.wheatgmap.org),which integrates multiple BSA mapping models and large amounts of public data to accelerate gene cloning and functional research and facilitate resource sharing.