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Chromosomal mapping of a major genetic locus from Agropyron cristatum chromosome 6P that influences grain number and spikelet number in wheat

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Abstract

Key message

A novel locus on Agropyron cristatum chromosome 6P that increases grain number and spikelet number was identified in wheat–A. cristatum derivatives and across 3 years.

Abstract

Agropyron cristatum (2n = 4x = 28, PPPP), which has the characteristics of high yield with multiple flowers and spikelets, is a promising gene donor for wheat high-yield improvement. Identifying the genetic loci and genes that regulate yield could elucidate the genetic variations in yield-related traits and provide novel gene sources and insights for high-yield wheat breeding. In this study, cytological analysis and molecular marker analysis revealed that del10a and del31a were wheat–A. cristatum chromosome 6P deletion lines. Notably, del10a carried a segment of the full 6PS and 6PL bin (1–13), while del31a carried a segment of the full 6PS and 6PL bin (1–8). The agronomic characterization and genetic population analysis confirmed that the 6PL bin (9–13) brought about an increase in grain number per spike (average increase of 10.43 grains) and spikelet number per spike (average increase of 3.67) over the three growing seasons. Furthermore, through resequencing, a multiple grain number locus was mapped to the physical interval of 593.03–713.89 Mb on chromosome 6P of A. cristatum Z559. The RNA-seq analysis revealed the expression of 537 genes in the del10a young spike tissue, with the annotation indicating that 16 of these genes were associated with grain number and spikelet number. Finally, a total of ten A. cristatum-specific molecular markers were developed for this interval. In summary, this study presents novel genetic material that is useful for high-yield wheat breeding initiatives to meet the challenge of global food security through enhanced agricultural production.

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Abbreviations

GNS:

Grain number per spike

SNS:

Spikelet number per spike

FFNS:

Fertile floret number per spikelet

TGW:

Thousand-grain weight

GISH:

Genomic in situ hybridization

FISH:

Fluorescence in situ hybridization

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFD1200600).

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Author notes

  1. Yida Lin and Shenghui Zhou have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yida Lin, Shenghui Zhou, Wenjing Yang, Bing Han, Xuezhong Liang, Yuxin Zhang, Jinpeng Zhang, Haiming Han, Baojin Guo, Weihua Liu, Xinming Yang, Xiuquan Li & Lihui Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing, 100081, China

    Yida Lin, Shenghui Zhou, Wenjing Yang, Bing Han, Xuezhong Liang, Yuxin Zhang, Jinpeng Zhang, Haiming Han, Baojin Guo, Weihua Liu, Xinming Yang, Xiuquan Li & Lihui Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Yida Lin & Lihui Li

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  1. Yida Lin
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Contributions

LHL conceived the research. YDL performed the research. YDL and SHZ wrote the paper. WJY modified some pictures. BH, XZL and YXZ participated in part of the data collection and cytology work. JPZ, HMH, BJG, XMY, XQL and WHL participated in the preparation of the reagents and materials used in this study.

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Correspondence to Lihui Li.

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Lin, Y., Zhou, S., Yang, W. et al. Chromosomal mapping of a major genetic locus from Agropyron cristatum chromosome 6P that influences grain number and spikelet number in wheat. Theor Appl Genet 137, 82 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-024-04584-2

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