Development of EST-PCR Markers for the Chromosome 4V of Haynaldia villosa and Their Application in Identification of 4V Chromosome Structural Aberrants

EST-PCR based molecular markers specific for alien chromosomes are not only useful for the detection of the introgressed alien chromatin in the wheat background, but also provide evidence of the syntenic relationship between homoeologous chromosomes. In the present study, in order to develop high density and evenly distributed molecular markers on chromosome 4V of Haynaldia villosa, a total of 607 primer pairs were designed according to the EST sequences, which were previously located in 23 different bins of wheat chromosomes 4A, 4B and 4D. By using the Triticum durum-H, villosa amphiploid and T. aestivum-H, villosa alien chromosome lines involving chromosome 4V, it was found that 9.23% of the tested primers could amplify specific bands for chromosome 4V. Thirty and twenty-six specific markers could be assigned to chromosome arms 4VS and 4VL, respectively. These 4V specific markers provided efficient tools for the characterization of structural variation involving the chromosome 4V as well as for the selection of useful genes located on chromosome 4V in breeding programs.

Site-specific transfer of chromosomal segments and genes in wheat engineered chromosomes

Recently, engineered minichromosomes have been produced using a telomere-mediated truncation technique in some plants. However, the study on transferring genes to minichromosomes is very limited.Here, telomere-mediated truncation was successfully performed in common wheat（Triticum aestivum）to generate stable truncated chromosomes accompanied by a relatively high frequency of chromosomal rearrangements. After the cross between transgenic parents, a promoter-less DsRed gene in a chromosome from one parent was transferred to another chromosome from the other parent at the site behind a maize ubiquitin promoter via the Cre/lox system. DsRed transcripts and red fluorescent proteins were detected in the recombinant plants. In one such seedling, transgenic signals were detected at the centric terminus of chromosome 4D and the distal terminus of chromosome 3A. Clear translocations could be detected at the transgenic loci of these two chromosomes. Intriguingly, signals of centric-specific sequences were co-localized with the translocated D-group chromosomal segment in the terminal region of chromosome 3A. Our results indicate that the Cre/lox system induces the gene swapping to the target chromosome and non-homologous chromosomal recombination simultaneously. These approaches could offer a platform to transfer large DNA fragments or even terminal chromosomal segments to other chromosomes of the natural genome.