Identification and independent validation of a stable yield and thousand grain weight QTL on chromosome 6A of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Background: Grain yield in wheat is a polygenic trait that is influenced by environmental and genetic interactions at all stages of the plant's growth. Yield is usually broken down into three components; number of spikes per area, grain number per spike, and grain weight (TGW). In polyploid wheat, studies have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) which affect TGW, yet few have been validated and fine-mapped using independent germplasm, thereby having limited impact in breeding.

Mutant alleles of Photoperiod-1 in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that confer a late flowering phenotype in long days.

Flowering time in wheat and barley is known to be modified by mutations in the Photoperiod-1 (Ppd-1) gene. Semi-dominant Ppd-1a mutations conferring an early flowering phenotype are well documented in wheat but gene sequencing has also identified candidate loss of function mutations for Ppd-A1 and Ppd-D1. By analogy to the recessive ppd-H1 mutation in barley, loss of function mutations in wheat are predicted to delay flowering under long day conditions.

The effect of day-neutral mutations in barley and wheat on the interaction between photoperiod and vernalization.

Vernalization-2 (Vrn-2) is the major flowering repressor in temperate cereals. It is only expressed under long days in wild-type plants. We used two day-neutral (photoperiod insensitive) mutations that allow rapid flowering in short or long days to investigate the day length control of Vrn-2.

The inhibitor of wax 1 locus (Iw1) prevents formation of β- and OH-β-diketones in wheat cuticular waxes and maps to a sub-cM interval on chromosome arm 2BS.

Glaucousness is described as the scattering effect of visible light from wax deposited on the cuticle of plant aerial organs. In wheat, two dominant genes lead to non-glaucous phenotypes: Inhibitor of wax 1 (Iw1) and Iw2. The molecular mechanisms and the exact extent (beyond visual assessment) by which these genes affect the composition and quantity of cuticular wax is unclear.

Mutation at the circadian clock gene EARLY MATURITY 8 adapts domesticated barley (Hordeum vulgare) to short growing seasons.

The circadian clock is an autonomous oscillator that produces endogenous biological rhythms with a period of about 24 h. This clock allows organisms to coordinate their metabolism and development with predicted daily and seasonal changes of the environment. In plants, circadian rhythms contribute to both evolutionary fitness and agricultural productivity.

Copy number variation affecting the Photoperiod-B1 and Vernalization-A1 genes is associated with altered flowering time in wheat (Triticum aestivum).

The timing of flowering during the year is an important adaptive character affecting reproductive success in plants and is critical to crop yield. Flowering time has been extensively manipulated in crops such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during domestication, and this enables them to grow productively in a wide range of environments.

The impact of photoperiod insensitive Ppd-1a mutations on the photoperiod pathway across the three genomes of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum).

Flowering time is a trait that has been extensively altered during wheat domestication, enabling it to be highly productive in diverse environments and providing a rich source of variation for studying adaptation mechanisms. Hexaploid wheat is ancestrally a long-day plant, but many environments require varieties with photoperiod insensitivity (PI) that can flower in short days. PI results from mutations in the Ppd-1 gene on the A, B or D genomes, with individual mutations conferring different degrees of earliness.

Photoperiod insensitive Ppd-A1a mutations in tetraploid wheat (Triticum durum Desf.).

Variation in photoperiod response plays an important role in adapting crops to agricultural environments. In hexaploid wheat, mutations conferring photoperiod insensitivity (flowering after a similar time in short or long days) have been mapped on the 2B (Ppd-B1) and 2D (Ppd-D1) chromosomes in colinear positions to the 2H Ppd-H1 gene of barley. No A genome mutation is known.