Novel Bread Wheat Lines Enriched in Carotenoids Carrying Hordeum chilense Chromosome Arms in the ph1b Background

The use of crop wild relative species to improve major crops performance is well established. Hordeum chilense has a high potential as a genetic donor to increase the carotenoid content of wheat. Crosses between the 7H(ch) H. chilense substitution lines in wheat and the wheat pairing homoeologous1b (ph1b) mutant allowed the development of wheat-H. chilense translocation lines for both 7H(ch)alpha and 7H(ch)beta chromosome arms in the wheat background. These translocation lines were characterized by in situ hybridization and using molecular markers. In addition, reverse phase chromatography (HPLC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the carotenoid content and both 7H(ch)alpha.7AL and 7AS.7H(ch)beta disomic translocation lines. The carotenoid content in 7H(ch)alpha.7AL and 7AS.7H(ch)beta disomic translocation lines was higher than the wheat-7H(ch) addition line and double amount of carotenoids than the wheat itself. A proteomic analysis confirmed that the presence of chromosome 7H(ch) introgressions in wheat scarcely altered the proteomic profile of the wheat flour. The Psy1 (Phytoene Synthase1) gene, which is the first committed step in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, was also cytogenetically mapped on the 7H(ch)alpha chromosome arm. These new wheat-H. chilense translocation lines can be used as a powerful tool in wheat breeding programs to enrich the diet in bioactive compounds.