Abstract
Vernalization requirement in wheat is determined by allelic variation mainly at three loci, Vrn-A1, Vrn-B1 and Vrn-D1. Up to 2011 only two alleles at the Vrn-D1 locus were known. The dominant allele, now designated as Vrn-D1a, confers spring growth habit, and the other, recessive allele, vrn-D1, is associated with the winter growth habit. Recently, we found an additional dominant allele, Vrn-D1b, associated with the facultative growth habit. As facultative wheat cultivars play an important role in wheat production we screened 689 accessions from all over China, with a specific aim of determining the frequency and distribution of Vrn-D1b. The results showed that Vrn-D1a, Vrn-D1b and vrn-D1 were present in 27.3, 20.6 and 52.1 % of all accessions, respectively. Vrn-D1a was mostly distributed in the autumn sown spring wheat zone, whereas Vrn-D1b was common in the autumn sown facultative wheat zone. One cultivar (Shiluan 02-1) was heterogeneous at the Vrn-D1 locus. A comparison between the Vrn-D1b genotype and the vrn-D1 genotype from the same cultivar showed that without vernalization the Vrn-D1b genotype reached the double ridge (DR) stage 27 days earlier than the vrn-D1 genotype. Vernalization responses, expressed as a reduction in the number of days to reach the DR stage following cold treatment, at 4 °C for 20, 30 and 40 days, were 62, 67 and 75 days, respectively, for the Vrn-D1b genotype, and 74, 87 and 98 days, respectively, for the vrn-D1 genotype, confirming the effect of Vrn-D1b on facultative growth habit. Pedigree analysis indicates that the Vrn-D1b allele originated from Chinese landraces.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the research groups led by Dr. Lihui Li and Dr. Xueyong Zhang for providing the seed of some of the Chinese landraces and traditional cultivars used in this study. This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2011BAD35B03), Ministry of Agriculture of China (2014ZX08002002-001), Core Research Budget of the Non-profit Governmental Research Institutions (ICS, CAAS), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31401468).
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Guo, Xr., Wang, Yy., Meng, Lz. et al. Distribution of the Vrn-D1b allele associated with facultative growth habit in Chinese wheat accessions. Euphytica 206, 1–10 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-015-1440-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-015-1440-1