Article
Plant Sciences
Manel Othmeni, Surbhi Grewal, Jack Walker, Cai-yun Yang, Ian P. King, Julie King
Summary: Aegilops tauschii, the D-genome donor of hexaploid wheat, provides genetic variation for the improvement of tetraploid wheat. The introgression of Ae. tauschii into durum wheat requires cytogenetic manipulation and specific markers for screening, but it is challenging.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Cunyao Bo, Zhongqing Fan, Xin Ma, Anfei Li, Hongwei Wang, Lingrang Kong, Xiaoqian Wang
Summary: In this study, a novel high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) from Aegilops tauschii was identified and designated as Glu-D(t)1. The function of the gene Glu-D(t)1 was verified through site-directed mutagenesis, which revealed a mutation from cysteine to arginine in the y-type subunit. Three introgression lines (ILs) with Glu-D1 locus substituted by Glu-D(t)1 were obtained through direct hybridization, providing valuable resources for wheat genetic studies and breeding for distinctive end-use quality.
Article
Plant Sciences
Moses Nyine, Elina Adhikari, Marshall Clinesmith, Robert Aiken, Bliss Betzen, Wei Wang, Dwight Davidson, Zitong Yu, Yuanwen Guo, Fei He, Alina Akhunova, Katherine W. Jordan, Allan K. Fritz, Eduard Akhunov
Summary: Evaluating the impact of introgression from Aegilops tauschii on yield and yield component traits in winter wheat, it was found that up to 23% of introgression lines exhibited higher grain production compared to parents and check cultivars.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rizky Pasthika Kirana, Kumar Gaurav, Sanu Arora, Gerlinde Wiesenberger, Maria Doppler, Sebastian Michel, Simone Zimmerl, Magdalena Matic, Chinedu E. Eze, Mukesh Kumar, Ajla Topuz, Marc Lemmens, Rainer Schuhmacher, Gerhard Adam, Brande B. H. Wulff, Hermann Buerstmayr, Barbara Steiner
Summary: This study investigated the genetic basis of resistance against Fusarium head blight and the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol in Aegilops tauschii, the diploid progenitor of the wheat D subgenome. By analyzing a panel of Ae. tauschii accessions, a uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucosyltransferase (UGT) gene on chromosome 5D was identified as the causal variant for susceptibility to the mycotoxin. This UGT gene was also found to be involved in DON detoxification in hexaploid wheat. The findings highlight the conservation of this resistance mechanism in wheat and barley.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Hongyun Kou, Zhenbo Zhang, Yu Yang, Changfeng Wei, Lili Xu, Guangqiang Zhang
Summary: Aegilops tauschii is a harmful weed affecting wheat production and serves as the wild ancestor of the D genome of hexaploid wheat. It contains valuable disease resistance genes missing in cultivated wheat, making it an important genetic resource for wheat disease resistance breeding. Recent completion of Aegilops tauschii genome sequence has provided a solid foundation for further exploration of disease resistance genes in wheat. This paper analyzes and reviews the relationship between Aegilops tauschii and wheat, research progress on Aegilops tauschii, discovery of disease resistance genes, and their application in modern wheat breeding, offering insights for utilizing Aegilops tauschii in wheat disease resistance breeding.
Article
Agronomy
Feifei Ma, Ranzhe Li, Guanghui Guo, Fang Nie, Lele Zhu, Wenjuan Liu, Linlin Lyu, Shenglong Bai, Xinpeng Zhao, Zheng Li, Dale Zhang, Hao Li, Suoping Li, Yun Zhou, Chun-Peng Song
Summary: To overcome the limited genetic diversity of the wheat D genome, researchers developed a set of Aegilops tauschii-wheat introgression lines. They constructed a high-density genetic map and identified QTL related to yield by evaluating multiple traits. They also developed markers based on candidate genes and found that certain A-WI lines had significantly longer kernel length. Valuable A-WI lines carrying yield-related QTL were selected for breeding improvement.
Article
Plant Sciences
Nerida Lozano-Ramirez, Susanne Dreisigacker, Carolina P. Sansaloni, Xinyao He, Sergio Sandoval Islas, Paulino Perez-Rodriguez, Aquiles Carballo Carballo, Cristian Nava-Diaz, Masahiro Kishii, Pawan K. Singh
Summary: Synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW) has been found to have effective resistance to tan spot, a foliar disease caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis. Through evaluation and genotyping of 443 SHW plants, 30 significant marker-trait associations were identified, providing important candidate lines for wheat breeding with improved resistance to tan spot.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Benedict Coombes, John P. P. Fellers, Surbhi Grewal, Rachel Rusholme-Pilcher, Stella Hubbart-Edwards, Cai-yun Yang, Ryan Joynson, Ian P. P. King, Julie King, Anthony Hall
Summary: Wheat breeders face a challenge due to its limited genetic variation, but the introduction of novel genes from wild wheat relatives through introgression lines can help overcome this problem. By sequencing introgression lines, researchers have identified the borders of the introgressed segments and discovered potential resistance genes. The study also revealed structural disruptions and homoeologous pairing in the introgression lines, with novel introgressed genes showing rare expression and a tendency towards downregulation. This research provides valuable insights for utilizing introgression lines in wheat breeding programs.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Samira Safiyar, Ali Aalami, Babak Abdollahi Mandoulakani, Babak Rabiei, Mojtaba Kordrostami
Summary: The study focused on evaluating the genetic diversity of Ae. tauschii accessions from different regions of Iran and its relationship with Triticum durum and Triticum aestivum using retrotransposon markers. High levels of polymorphism were observed, with IRAP markers showing higher polymorphism information content compared to REMAP markers. Cluster analysis separated the accessions into three distinct groups, suggesting that Ae. tauschii accessions from Golestan province are likely more related to the progenitor of bread wheat D genome.
CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Emily Delorean, Liangliang Gao, Jose Fausto Cervantes Lopez, Brande B. H. Wulff, Maria Itria Ibba, Jesse Poland
Summary: The diversity of wheat products is largely influenced by the origin of hexaploid bread wheat, which improved dough properties in leavened breads by incorporating the D-genome of Aegilops tauschii. Despite the genetic bottleneck caused by polyploidization, Ae. tauschii remains a valuable resource for unique Glu-D1 alleles, potentially enhancing end-use quality improvement in wheat breeding programs. Through genomic analysis, researchers have identified novel Glu-D1 gene alleles in Ae. tauschii, suggesting a promising reservoir for generating higher quality wheat varieties.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Monir Idres Yahya Ahmed, Yasir Serag Alnor Gorafi, Nasrein Mohamed Kamal, Mohammed Yousif Balla, Izzat Sidahmed Ali Tahir, Lipeng Zheng, Naoto Kawakami, Hisashi Tsujimoto
Summary: Due to the low genetic diversity in current wheat germplasm, it is essential to mine genes from wild relatives to develop more resilient wheat cultivars. This study developed a systematic platform for evaluating traits and identifying QTLs and genes in Aegilops tauschii, a valuable gene source for wheat breeding. The platform proved effective in identifying a novel seed dormancy QTL and can be a valuable resource for mining agronomically important traits in the era of climate change.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lin-Feng Li, Zhi-Bin Zhang, Zhen-Hui Wang, Ning Li, Yan Sha, Xin-Feng Wang, Ning Ding, Yang Li, Jing Zhao, Ying Wu, Lei Gong, Fabrizio Mafessoni, Avraham A. Levy, Bao Liu
Summary: The study identified the donor of the common wheat B subgenome as a distinct and most likely extinct diploid species, differing from the still existing Aegilops species. It also found interspecific genetic introgressions during the evolution of the Triticum/Aegilops species complex. These newly assembled genome resources offer a new avenue for wheat improvement.
Article
Agronomy
Haiyan Yu, Juan Yang, Hailan Cui, Adeel Abbas, Shouhui Wei, Xiangju Li
Summary: Aegilops tauschii, a noxious grass weed affecting wheat quality and yield, was found in wheat fields across various provinces in China. Genetic diversity was moderately high with no clear geographic patterns. Structure analysis divided the populations into three groups, with majority of variation occurring within population groups.
Article
Agronomy
Gamila Mohamed Idris Elhadi, Nasrein Mohamed Kamal, Yasir Serag Alnor Gorafi, Yuji Yamasaki, Yusuke Ban, Keita Kato, Izzat Sidahmed Ali Tahir, Takayoshi Ishii, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Hisashi Tsujimoto
Summary: Research shows that stress environments like heat and drought affect the hardness of wheat kernels, while understanding the stability of hardness and stress tolerance can aid in selecting high-yielding and high-quality wheat lines under stress conditions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Mazin Mahjoob Mohamed Mahjoob, Yasir Serag Alnor Gorafi, Nasrein Mohamed Kamal, Yuji Yamasaki, Izzat Sidahmed Ali Tahir, Yoshihiro Matsuoka, Hisashi Tsujimoto
Summary: Aegilops tauschii, the D-genome donor of bread wheat, is a genetic resource with a large diversity of morpho-physiological traits and adaptations to a wide ecological range. Through genome-wide association studies, markers or genes associated with morpho-physiological traits were identified, revealing differences in genetic diversity between different lineages, which are valuable for wheat breeding.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Moses Nyine, Shichen Wang, Kian Kiani, Katherine Jordan, Shuyu Liu, Patrick Byrne, Scott Haley, Stephen Baenziger, Shiaoman Chao, Robert Bowden, Eduard Akhunov
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2019)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Erick M. G. Cordeiro, James F. Campbell, Thomas Phillips, Eduard Akhunov
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2019)
Article
Biology
Laura-Jayne Gardiner, Thomas Brabbs, Alina Akhunov, Katherine Jordan, Hikmet Budak, Todd Richmond, Sukhwinder Singh, Leah Catchpole, Eduard Akhunov, Anthony Hall
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Fei He, Raj Pasam, Fan Shi, Surya Kant, Gabriel Keeble-Gagnere, Pippa Kay, Kerrie Forrest, Allan Fritz, Pierre Hucl, Krystalee Wiebe, Ron Knox, Richard Cuthbert, Curtis Pozniak, Alina Akhunova, Peter L. Morrell, John P. Davies, Steve R. Webb, German Spangenberg, Ben Hayes, Hans Daetwyler, Josquin Tibbits, Matthew Hayden, Eduard Akhunov
Article
Plant Sciences
Wei Wang, Qianli Pan, Bin Tian, Fei He, Yueying Chen, Guihua Bai, Alina Akhunova, Harold N. Trick, Eduard Akhunov
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stephen Bolus, Eduard Akhunov, Gitta Coaker, Jorge Dubcovsky
MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS
(2020)
Article
Agronomy
Moses Nyine, Brigitte Uwimana, Violet Akech, Allan Brown, Rodomiro Ortiz, Jaroslav Dolezel, Jim Lorenzen, Rony Swennen
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Wei Wang, Bin Tian, Qianli Pan, Yueying Chen, Fei He, Guihua Bai, Alina Akhunova, Harold N. Trick, Eduard Akhunov
Summary: The development of CRISPR-based editors with distinct PAM recognition and different spacer requirements expands genomic applications. Engineered variant LbCas12a showed increased gene editing efficiency, especially when guided by ribozymes and subjected to high-temperature treatment. Engineered variants of Cas12a and Cas9 further expand editable loci in the wheat genome, with Cas9-NG demonstrating higher editing efficiency on atypical PAM targets compared to xCas9.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Moses Nyine, Elina Adhikari, Marshall Clinesmith, Robert Aiken, Bliss Betzen, Wei Wang, Dwight Davidson, Zitong Yu, Yuanwen Guo, Fei He, Alina Akhunova, Katherine W. Jordan, Allan K. Fritz, Eduard Akhunov
Summary: Evaluating the impact of introgression from Aegilops tauschii on yield and yield component traits in winter wheat, it was found that up to 23% of introgression lines exhibited higher grain production compared to parents and check cultivars.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Priscilla Glenn, Junli Zhang, Gina Brown-Guedira, Noah DeWitt, Jason P. Cook, Kun Li, Eduard Akhunov, Jorge Dubcovsky
Summary: A natural FT-A2 allele mutation was discovered to positively affect grain yield in wheat with no negative impact on fertility. This allele is found at low frequency in durum wheat and higher frequency in hexaploid wheat, particularly in winter and fall-planted common wheat varieties, suggesting its potential usefulness in improving wheat yield.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Wei Wang, Zitong Yu, Fei He, Guihua Bai, Harold N. Trick, Alina Akhunova, Eduard Akhunov
Summary: In this study, we successfully used a virus-based delivery method to perform gene editing in wheat, overcoming the low efficiency issue of traditional transformation methods. The strategy presented in our study can be applied to any crop cultivar, providing possibilities for creating new regulatory diversity and large-scale gene editing, accelerating crop genome engineering and gene discovery, and improving traits.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ella Taagen, Katherine Jordan, Eduard Akhunov, Mark E. Sorrells, Jean-Luc Jannink
Summary: Meiotic recombination is a source of allelic diversity but its low frequency and biased distribution limit genetic variation in plant breeding. Increasing recombination frequency may result in loss of genetic variation and decrease in genomic prediction accuracy. Existing breeding methods are more efficient in retaining genetic variation and increasing genetic gains compared to a controlled recombination approach.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Katherine W. Jordan, Fei He, Monica Fernandez de Soto, Alina Akhunova, Eduard Akhunov