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.

Limited haplotype diversity underlies polygenic trait architecture across 70 years of wheat breeding.

Background: Selection has dramatically shaped genetic and phenotypic variation in bread wheat. We can assess the genomic basis of historical phenotypic changes, and the potential for future improvement, using experimental populations that attempt to undo selection through the randomizing effects of recombination.

Results: We bred the NIAB Diverse MAGIC multi-parent population comprising over 500 recombinant inbred lines, descended from sixteen historical UK bread wheat varieties released between 1935 and 2004.