The molecular genetic regulation of vegetative-generative transition in wheat from environmental perspective.

The key to wide geographical distribution of wheat is its high adaptability. One of the most commonly used methods for studying adaptation is the investigation of transition between the vegetative-generative phase and the subsequent intensive stem elongation process. These processes are largely determined by changes in ambient temperature, the diurnal and annual periodicity of day length, and the composition of light spectrum.

Effects of genetic components of plant development on yield-related traits in wheat ( L.) under stress-free conditions.

The dynamics of plant development not only has an impact on ecological adaptation but also contributes to the realization of genetically determined yield potentials in various environments. Dissecting the genetic determinants of plant development becomes urgent due to the global climate change, which can seriously affect and even disrupt the locally adapted developmental patterns. In order to determine the role plant developmental loci played in local adaptation and yield formation, a panel of 188 winter and facultative wheat cultivars from diverse geographic locations were characterized with the 15K Illumina Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) chip and functional markers of several plant developmental genes and included into a multiseason field experiment.

Exploring the legacy of Central European historical winter wheat landraces.

Historical wheat landraces are rich sources of genetic diversity offering untapped reservoirs for broadening the genetic base of modern varieties. Using a 20K SNP array, we investigated the accessible genetic diversity in a Central European bread wheat landrace collection with great drought, heat stress tolerance and higher tillering capacity. We discovered distinct differences in the number of average polymorphisms between landraces and modern wheat cultivars, and identified a set of novel rare alleles present at low frequencies in the landrace collection.

Single versus repeated heat stress in wheat: What are the consequences in different developmental phases?

With a possible reference to heat priming and to characterize the extent and variation in the heat stress responses in wheat, the effects of single vs. repeated heat stresses were examined by measuring the changes in morphological and grain yield-related traits and photosynthetic parameters. To achieve these objectives, 51 winter wheat cultivars of various geographic origins were included in two independent experiments covering different phenological stages.

Heat stress responses in a large set of winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) depend on the timing and duration of stress.

The adverse effects of heat on plant yield strongly depend on its duration and the phenological stage of the crops when the heat occurs. To clarify the effects of these two aspects of heat stress, systematic research was conducted under controlled conditions on 101 wheat cultivars of various geographic origin. Different durations of heat stress (5, 10 and 15 days) were applied starting from three developmental stages (ZD49: booting stage, ZD59: heading, ZD72: 6th day after heading).

Rising atmospheric CO concentration may imply higher risk of Fusarium mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains.

Increasing atmospheric CO concentration not only has a direct impact on plants but also affects plant-pathogen interactions. Due to economic and health-related problems, special concern was given thus in the present work to the effect of elevated CO (750 μmol mol) level on the Fusarium culmorum infection and mycotoxin contamination of wheat. Despite the fact that disease severity was found to be not or little affected by elevated CO in most varieties, as the spread of Fusarium increased only in one variety, spike grain number and/or grain weight decreased significantly at elevated CO in all the varieties, indicating that Fusarium infection generally had a more dramatic impact on the grain yield at elevated CO than at the ambient level.

Effects of ambient temperature in association with photoperiod on phenology and on the expressions of major plant developmental genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

In addition to its role in vernalization, temperature is an important environmental stimulus in determining plant growth and development. We used factorial combinations of two photoperiods (16H, 12H) and three temperature levels (11, 18 and 25 °C) to study the temperature responses of 19 wheat cultivars with established genetic relationships. Temperature produced more significant effects on plant development than photoperiod, with strong genotypic components.

Allele frequencies in the -, - and - vernalization response and - and - photoperiod sensitivity genes, and their effects on heading in a diverse set of wheat cultivars ( L.).

Heading of cereals is determined by complex genetic and environmental factors in which genes responsible for vernalization and photoperiod sensitivity play a decisive role. Our aim was to use diagnostic molecular markers to determine the main allele types in -, -, -, - and - in a worldwide wheat collection of 683 genotypes and to investigate the effect of these alleles on heading in the field. The dominant -, - and - alleles were present at a low frequency.

Effect of heat and drought stress on the structure and composition of arabinoxylan and β-glucan in wheat grain.

The effects of heat (H), drought (D) and H+D (from 12th day after heading for 15 days) on the dietary fiber content and composition (arabinoxylan (AX) and β-glucan) of three winter wheat varieties (Plainsman V, Mv Magma and Fatima 2) were determined. Results showed that H and D stress decreased the TKW, the β-glucan contents of the seeds and the quantity of the DP3+DP4 units, while the protein and AX contents increased. The highest amounts of AX and proteins were in the H+D stressed samples with heat stress also increasing the water extractability (WE) of the AX.