Wheat genotypes tolerant to heat at seedling stage tend to be also tolerant at adult stage:The possibility of early selection for heat tolerance breeding

Wheat production is seriously influenced by extreme hot weather,which has attracted increasing attention.It is important to compare wheat responses to heat at seedling and reproductive stages,to explore the potential relationship between the performances at different growing stages and the possibility of early selection to accelerate heat tolerance breeding.In this study,forty wheat genotypes were screened under heat stress at both seedling and adult stages.It was found that root lengths at seedling stage were severely reduced by heat stress with significant variations among wheat genotypes.Heat-tolerant genotypes at seedling stage showed less root length decrease than susceptible ones.Wheat genotypes tolerant at seedling stage showed higher yield at adult stage after heat treatment.The performances of wheat genotypes screened under heat stress at seedling and adult stages were ranked by seedling damage index and adult damage index.A significant positive relationship was found between heat tolerance at seedling stage and at adult stage(r=0.6930),suggesting a similar tolerant/susceptible mechanism at different plant growth stages and the possibility of early selection at seedling stage for breeding heat tolerance.Extremely tolerant and susceptible genotypes with consistent performances at seedling and adult stages were genetically compared and associated SNP markers and linked candidate genes were identified.

Genetic dissection of yield-related traits in response to drought stress in common bean

Drought stress severely impairs common bean production.For facilitating drought-resistance breeding in common bean,molecular markers were identified in a genome-wide level marker–trait association study.A panel of 210 common bean accessions showed large variation in 11 agronomic traits at the adult stage(plant height,pod number per plant,seed number per pod,seed number per plant,seed yield per plant,pod length,harvest index,pod harvest index,days to maturity,hundred-seed weight,and seed yield)under two water conditions.The coefficient of variation ranged from 6.21% for pod harvest index to51.00% for seed number per plant under well-watered conditions,and from 4.05% for days to maturity to 40.72% for seed number per plant under drought stress.In a genome-wide association study,119quantitative-trait loci were associated with drought resistance,including 41 adjacent to known loci.Among these loci,12 were found to be associated with at least two traits.Three major loci were identified at Pv01 and Pv02.A set of candidate genes were found that encode MYBs,AREBs,WKRYs,and protein kinases.These results reveal promising alleles that control drought resistance,shedding light on the genetic basis of drought resistance and accelerating future efforts for drought resistance improvement in common bean.