TAMFT-3A and TAMFT-3B2 homeologs are associated with wheat preharvest sprouting.

The phenomenon of preharvest sprouting (PHS), caused by rain after physiological maturity and prior to harvest, negatively affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production and end use. Investigating the genetics that control PHS resistance may result in increased control of seed dormancy. Multiple genes involved in the development of seed dormancy are associated with PHS. In this study, the TaMFT (3A, 3B1, 3B2, 3D), TaMKK3-4A, and TaVP1-3B genes were assessed for association with PHS in a double-haploid line (DHL) hard red winter wheat population derived from a BC1 cross between the cultivars Loma and Warhorse, where Loma was the recurrent and PHS susceptible parent. The 162 BC1 DHL lines were grown over two field seasons and PHS susceptibility was assessed by measuring PHS resistance in physiologically mature heads. The PHS variation was associated with the TaMFT-A and the B2 homeolog with Loma carrying mutant forms of each gene. No sequence variation between Loma and Warhorse was detected in the exons of the TaMFT-B1 and D homeologs. No association between PHS resistance and TaMKK3-4A or TaVp1-3B variation was observed, though Loma and Warhorse vary for TaMKK3-4A and TaVp1-3B mutations reported to be PHS associated. Previous research has shown TaMFT-3A as having a large impact on PHS resistance. In the current study, the TaMFT-3A and TaMFT-3B2 alleles each explained 14% of observed PHS variation. Markers for both TaMFT-3A and TaMFT-3B2 should be used in selecting for increased wheat dormancy and PHS resistance.

Copy number and haplotype variation at the VRN-A1 and central FR-A2 loci are associated with frost tolerance in hexaploid wheat.

KEY MESSAGE: The interaction between VRN - A1 and FR - A2 largely affect the frost tolerance of hexaploid wheat. Frost tolerance is critical for wheat survival during cold winters. Natural variation for this trait is mainly associated with allelic differences at the VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) and FROST RESISTANCE 2 (FR2) loci. VRN1 regulates the transition between vegetative and reproductive stages and FR2, a locus including several tandemly duplicated C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) transcription factors, regulates the expression of Cold-regulated genes. We identified sequence and copy number variation at these two loci among winter and spring wheat varieties and characterized their association with frost tolerance. We identified two FR-A2 haplotypes-'FR-A2-S' and 'FR-A2-T'-distinguished by two insertion/deletions and ten single nucleotide polymorphisms within the CBF-A12 and CBF-A15 genes. Increased copy number of CBF-A14 was frequently associated with the FR-A2-T haplotype and with higher CBF14 transcript levels in response to cold. Factorial ANOVAs revealed significant interactions between VRN1 and FR-A2 for frost tolerance in both winter and spring panels suggesting a crosstalk between vernalization and cold acclimation pathways. The model including these two loci and their interaction explained 32.0 and 20.7 % of the variation in frost tolerance in the winter and spring panels, respectively. The interaction was validated in a winter wheat F 4:5 population segregating for both genes. Increased VRN-A1 copy number was associated with improved frost tolerance among varieties carrying the FR-A2-T allele but not among those carrying the FR-A2-S allele. These results suggest that selection of varieties carrying the FR-A2-T allele and three copies of the recessive vrn-A1 allele would be a good strategy to improve frost tolerance in wheat.