A novel root hair mutant, , affects root hair elongation and reactive oxygen species levels in wheat.

Background: Root hairs are single-celled projections on root surfaces, critical for water and nutrient uptake. Here, we describe the first short root hair mutant in wheat ( L.), identified in a mutagenized population and termed here short root hair 1 ().

Root hairs: an underexplored target for sustainable cereal crop production.

To meet the demands of a rising human population, plant breeders will need to develop improved crop varieties that maximize yield in the face of increasing pressure on crop production. Historically, the optimization of crop root architecture has represented a challenging breeding target due to the inaccessibility of the root systems. Root hairs, single cell projections from the root epidermis, are perhaps the most overlooked component of root architecture traits.

A new winter wheat genetic resource harbors untapped diversity from synthetic hexaploid wheat.

The NIAB_WW_SHW_NAM population, a large nested association mapping panel, is a useful resource for mapping QTL from synthetic hexaploid wheat that can improve modern elite wheat cultivars. The allelic richness harbored in progenitors of hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a useful resource for addressing the genetic diversity bottleneck in modern cultivars.

A wheat chromosome segment substitution line series supports characterization and use of progenitor genetic variation.

Genome-wide introgression and substitution lines have been developed in many plant species, enhancing mapping precision, gene discovery, and the identification and exploitation of variation from wild relatives. Created over multiple generations of crossing and/or backcrossing accompanied by marker-assisted selection, the resulting introgression lines are a fixed genetic resource. In this study we report the development of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Progenitor species hold untapped diversity for potential climate-responsive traits for use in wheat breeding and crop improvement.

Climate change will have numerous impacts on crop production worldwide necessitating a broadening of the germplasm base required to source and incorporate novel traits. Major variation exists in crop progenitor species for seasonal adaptation, photosynthetic characteristics, and root system architecture. Wheat is crucial for securing future food and nutrition security and its evolutionary history and progenitor diversity offer opportunities to mine favourable functional variation in the primary gene pool.

Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci Relating to Flowering Time, Flag Leaf and Awn Characteristics in a Novel Mapping Population.

Tetraploid landraces of wheat harbour genetic diversity that could be introgressed into modern bread wheat with the aid of marker-assisted selection to address the genetic diversity bottleneck in the breeding genepool. A novel bi-parental ssp. Schrank mapping population was created from a cross between two landrace accessions differing for multiple physiological traits.

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing of Gluten in Wheat to Reduce Gluten Content and Exposure-Reviewing Methods to Screen for Coeliac Safety.

Ingestion of gluten proteins (gliadins and glutenins) from wheat, barley and rye can cause coeliac disease (CD) in genetically predisposed individuals. The only remedy is a strict and lifelong gluten-free diet. There is a growing desire for coeliac-safe, whole-grain wheat-based products, as consumption of whole-grain foods reduces the risk of chronic diseases.

Food processing and breeding strategies for coeliac-safe and healthy wheat products.

A strict gluten-free diet is currently the only treatment for the 1-2% of the world population who suffer from coeliac disease (CD). However, due to the presence of wheat and wheat derivatives in many food products, avoiding gluten consumption is difficult. Gluten-free products, made without wheat, barley or rye, typically require the inclusion of numerous additives, resulting in products that are often less healthy than gluten-based equivalents.

Wheat in the Mediterranean revisited--tetraploid wheat landraces assessed with elite bread wheat Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers.

Background: Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) panels recently developed for the assessment of genetic diversity in wheat are primarily based on elite varieties, mostly those of bread wheat. The usefulness of such SNP panels for studying wheat evolution and domestication has not yet been fully explored and ascertainment bias issues can potentially affect their applicability when studying landraces and tetraploid ancestors of bread wheat. We here evaluate whether population structure and evolutionary history can be assessed in tetraploid landrace wheats using SNP markers previously developed for the analysis of elite cultivars of hexaploid wheat.

Use of advanced recombinant lines to study the impact and potential of mutations affecting starch synthesis in barley.

The effects on barley starch and grain properties of four starch synthesis mutations were studied during the introgression of the mutations from diverse backgrounds into an elite variety. The (ADPglucose transporter), (granule-bound starch synthase), (debranching enzyme isoamylase 1) and (starch synthase IIa) mutations were introgressed into NFC Tipple to give mutant and wild-type BCF families with different genomic contributions of the donor parent. Comparison of starch and grain properties between the donor parents, the BCF families and NFC Tipple allowed the effects of the mutations to be distinguished from genetic background effects.

Tetraploid wheat landraces in the Mediterranean basin: taxonomy, evolution and genetic diversity.

The geographic distribution of genetic diversity and the population structure of tetraploid wheat landraces in the Mediterranean basin has received relatively little attention. This is complicated by the lack of consensus concerning the taxonomy of tetraploid wheats and by unresolved questions regarding the domestication and spread of naked wheats. These knowledge gaps hinder crop diversity conservation efforts and plant breeding programmes.

Barley mutants with low rates of endosperm starch synthesis have low grain dormancy and high susceptibility to preharvest sprouting.

• Studies of embryo dormancy in relation to preharvest sprouting (PHS) in cereals have focused on ABA and other hormones. The relationship between these phenomena and the rate of grain filling has not been investigated. • A collection of barley mutants impaired in starch synthesis was assessed for preharvest sprouting in the field.

Evolutionary history of barley cultivation in Europe revealed by genetic analysis of extant landraces.

Background: Understanding the evolution of cultivated barley is important for two reasons. First, the evolutionary relationships between different landraces might provide information on the spread and subsequent development of barley cultivation, including the adaptation of the crop to new environments and its response to human selection. Second, evolutionary information would enable landraces with similar traits but different genetic backgrounds to be identified, providing alternative strategies for the introduction of these traits into modern germplasm.

Identification of a major QTL controlling the content of B-type starch granules in Aegilops.

Starch within the endosperm of most species of the Triticeae has a unique bimodal granule morphology comprising large lenticular A-type granules and smaller near-spherical B-type granules. However, a few wild wheat species (Aegilops) are known to lack B-granules. Ae.

Population-based resequencing reveals that the flowering time adaptation of cultivated barley originated east of the Fertile Crescent.

Gene resequencing and association analysis present new opportunities to study the evolution of adaptive traits in crop plants. Here we apply these tools to an extensive set of barley accessions to identify a component of the molecular basis of the flowering time adaptation, a trait critical to plant survival. Using an association-based study to relate variation in flowering time to sequence-based polymorphisms in the Ppd-H1 gene, we identify a causative polymorphism (SNP48) that accounts for the observed variation in barley flowering time.

Association mapping of partitioning loci in barley.

Background: Association mapping, initially developed in human disease genetics, is now being applied to plant species. The model species Arabidopsis provided some of the first examples of association mapping in plants, identifying previously cloned flowering time genes, despite high population sub-structure. More recently, association genetics has been applied to barley, where breeding activity has resulted in a high degree of population sub-structure.

Control of flowering time in temperate cereals: genes, domestication, and sustainable productivity.

The control of flowering is central to reproductive success in plants, and has a major impact on grain yield in crop species. The global importance of temperate cereal crops such as wheat and barley has meant emphasis has long been placed on understanding the genetics of flowering in order to enhance yield. Leads gained from the dissection of the molecular genetics of model species have combined with comparative genetic approaches, recently resulting in the isolation of the first flowering time genes in wheat and barley.

A family smoking index to capture genetic influence in smoking: rationale and two validation studies.

Despite a growing appreciation that genetic factors may impart vulnerability toward smoking behavior, only a modest consensus has been created about the specific genetic mechanisms that may underlie various aspects of smoking. A core feature of genetic contribution toward any complex human behavior is familial resemblance. Most previous attempts to index familial smoking have classified individuals into discrete categories, based on the number of smokers in a family.

Gypsy-like retrotransposons in Pyrenophora: an abundant and informative class of molecular markers.

This paper describes the development of S-SAP (sequence-specific amplified polymorphism) using a primer derived from the LTR (long terminal repeat) of the Pyggy retrotransposon isolated from Pyrenophora graminea. Fragments were amplified by S-SAP from different Pyrenophora spp., indicating the presence of Pyggy-like sequences in these genomes.