An integrated, systems-wide approach is needed for public-private partnerships to drive genetic innovation in crops.

Public-private partnerships are key to successfully translate knowledge to products, but current frameworks do not foster the systems-wide approach required to improve crops to meet the agricultural production challenges of the 21st century.

Linking the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium bread wheat reference genome sequence to wheat genetic and phenomic data.

The Wheat@URGI portal has been developed to provide the international community of researchers and breeders with access to the bread wheat reference genome sequence produced by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium. Genome browsers, BLAST, and InterMine tools have been established for in-depth exploration of the genome sequence together with additional linked datasets including physical maps, sequence variations, gene expression, and genetic and phenomic data from other international collaborative projects already stored in the GnpIS information system. The portal provides enhanced search and browser features that will facilitate the deployment of the latest genomics resources in wheat improvement.

Exploiting the Repetitive Fraction of the Wheat Genome for High-Throughput Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Discovery and Genotyping.

Transposable elements (TEs) account for more than 80% of the wheat genome. Although they represent a major obstacle for genomic studies, TEs are also a source of polymorphism and consequently of molecular markers such as insertion site-based polymorphism (ISBP) markers. Insertion site-based polymorphisms have been found to be a great source of genome-specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the hexaploid wheat ( L.

Fine mapping of a large-effect QTL conferring Fusarium crown rot resistance on the long arm of chromosome 3B in hexaploid wheat.

Background: Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is a major cereal disease in semi-arid areas worldwide. Of the various QTL reported, the one on chromosome arm 3BL (Qcrs.cpi-3B) has the largest effect that can be consistently detected in different genetic backgrounds.

Small-scale gene duplications played a major role in the recent evolution of wheat chromosome 3B.

Background: Bread wheat is not only an important crop, but its large (17 Gb), highly repetitive, and hexaploid genome makes it a good model to study the organization and evolution of complex genomes. Recently, we produced a high quality reference sequence of wheat chromosome 3B (774 Mb), which provides an excellent opportunity to study the evolutionary dynamics of a large and polyploid genome, specifically the impact of single gene duplications.

Results: We find that 27 % of the 3B predicted genes are non-syntenic with the orthologous chromosomes of Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, and Sorghum bicolor, whereas, by applying the same criteria, non-syntenic genes represent on average only 10 % of the predicted genes in these three model grasses.

Deep transcriptome sequencing provides new insights into the structural and functional organization of the wheat genome.

Background: Because of its size, allohexaploid nature, and high repeat content, the bread wheat genome is a good model to study the impact of the genome structure on gene organization, function, and regulation. However, because of the lack of a reference genome sequence, such studies have long been hampered and our knowledge of the wheat gene space is still limited. The access to the reference sequence of the wheat chromosome 3B provided us with an opportunity to study the wheat transcriptome and its relationships to genome and gene structure at a level that has never been reached before.

New insights into the wheat chromosome 4D structure and virtual gene order, revealed by survey pyrosequencing.

Survey sequencing of the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome (AABBDD) has been approached through different strategies delivering important information. However, the current wheat sequence knowledge is not complete.

Organization and evolution of transposable elements along the bread wheat chromosome 3B.

Background: The 17 Gb bread wheat genome has massively expanded through the proliferation of transposable elements (TEs) and two recent rounds of polyploidization. The assembly of a 774 Mb reference sequence of wheat chromosome 3B provided us with the opportunity to explore the impact of TEs on the complex wheat genome structure and evolution at a resolution and scale not reached so far.

Results: We develop an automated workflow, CLARI-TE, for TE modeling in complex genomes.

Transcriptome and allele specificity associated with a 3BL locus for Fusarium crown rot resistance in bread wheat.

Fusarium pathogens cause two major diseases in cereals, Fusarium crown rot (FCR) and head blight (FHB). A large-effect locus conferring resistance to FCR disease was previously located to chromosome arm 3BL (designated as Qcrs-3B) and several independent sets of near isogenic lines (NILs) have been developed for this locus. In this study, five sets of the NILs were used to examine transcriptional changes associated with the Qcrs-3B locus and to identify genes linked to the resistance locus as a step towards the isolation of the causative gene(s).

QTug.sau-3B is a major quantitative trait locus for wheat hexaploidization.

Meiotic nonreduction resulting in unreduced gametes is thought to be the predominant mechanism underlying allopolyploid formation in plants. Until now, however, its genetic base was largely unknown. The allohexaploid crop common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Structural and functional partitioning of bread wheat chromosome 3B.

We produced a reference sequence of the 1-gigabase chromosome 3B of hexaploid bread wheat. By sequencing 8452 bacterial artificial chromosomes in pools, we assembled a sequence of 774 megabases carrying 5326 protein-coding genes, 1938 pseudogenes, and 85% of transposable elements. The distribution of structural and functional features along the chromosome revealed partitioning correlated with meiotic recombination.

Meiotic gene evolution: can you teach a new dog new tricks?

Meiosis, the basis of sex, evolved through iterative gene duplications. To understand whether subsequent duplications have further enriched the core meiotic "tool-kit," we investigated the fate of meiotic gene duplicates following whole genome duplication (WGD), a common occurrence in eukaryotes. We show that meiotic genes return to a single copy more rapidly than genome-wide average in angiosperms, one of the lineages in which WGD is most vividly exemplified.

Characterization of polyploid wheat genomic diversity using a high-density 90,000 single nucleotide polymorphism array.

High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays are a powerful tool for studying genomic patterns of diversity, inferring ancestral relationships between individuals in populations and studying marker-trait associations in mapping experiments. We developed a genotyping array including about 90,000 gene-associated SNPs and used it to characterize genetic variation in allohexaploid and allotetraploid wheat populations. The array includes a significant fraction of common genome-wide distributed SNPs that are represented in populations of diverse geographical origin.

The physical map of wheat chromosome 1BS provides insights into its gene space organization and evolution.

Background: The wheat genome sequence is an essential tool for advanced genomic research and improvements. The generation of a high-quality wheat genome sequence is challenging due to its complex 17 Gb polyploid genome. To overcome these difficulties, sequencing through the construction of BAC-based physical maps of individual chromosomes is employed by the wheat genomics community.

High-resolution analysis of a QTL for resistance to Stagonospora nodorum glume blotch in wheat reveals presence of two distinct resistance loci in the target interval.

Stagonospora nodorum glume blotch (SNG), caused by the necrotrophic fungus Stagonospora nodorum, is one of the economically important diseases of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Resistance to SNG is known to be quantitative and previous studies of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population identified a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for resistance to SNG on the short arm of chromosome 3B.

A physical map of the short arm of wheat chromosome 1A.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has a large and highly repetitive genome which poses major technical challenges for its study. To aid map-based cloning and future genome sequencing projects, we constructed a BAC-based physical map of the short arm of wheat chromosome 1A (1AS). From the assembly of 25,918 high information content (HICF) fingerprints from a 1AS-specific BAC library, 715 physical contigs were produced that cover almost 99% of the estimated size of the chromosome arm.

Sequence-based analysis of translocations and inversions in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Structural changes of chromosomes are a primary mechanism of genome rearrangement over the course of evolution and detailed knowledge of such changes in a given species and its close relatives should increase the efficiency and precision of chromosome engineering in crop improvement. We have identified sequences bordering each of the main translocation and inversion breakpoints on chromosomes 4A, 5A and 7B of the modern bread wheat genome. The locations of these breakpoints allow, for the first time, a detailed description of the evolutionary origins of these chromosomes at the gene level.

A high density physical map of chromosome 1BL supports evolutionary studies, map-based cloning and sequencing in wheat.

Background: As for other major crops, achieving a complete wheat genome sequence is essential for the application of genomics to breeding new and improved varieties. To overcome the complexities of the large, highly repetitive and hexaploid wheat genome, the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium established a chromosome-based strategy that was validated by the construction of the physical map of chromosome 3B. Here, we present improved strategies for the construction of highly integrated and ordered wheat physical maps, using chromosome 1BL as a template, and illustrate their potential for evolutionary studies and map-based cloning.

Wheat centromeric retrotransposons: the new ones take a major role in centromeric structure.

The physical map of the hexaploid wheat chromosome 3B was screened using centromeric DNA probes. A 1.1-Mb region showing the highest number of positive bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones was fully sequenced and annotated, revealing that 96% of the DNA consisted of transposable elements, mainly long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons (88%).

Association mapping and haplotype analysis of a 3.1-Mb genomic region involved in Fusarium head blight resistance on wheat chromosome 3BS.

A previous study provided an in-depth understanding of molecular population genetics of European and Asian wheat gene pools using a sequenced 3.1-Mb contig (ctg954) on chromosome 3BS. This region is believed to carry the Fhb1 gene for response to Fusarium head blight.