Androgenic response of Triticum durum-Dasypyrum villosum amphidiploids and their parental forms

Wide hybridization in cereal crops is one of the most efficient tools for the enrichment of genetic variability and addressing a number of breeding problems related to resistance and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, a large number of amphidiploids between species possessing different morphological, genetic and physiological properties have been developed. One of the most valuable species with regard to the possibilities for introducing valuable traits and properties into wheat species is the wild Dasypyrum villosum. With the aim to study the androgenic response of the Triticum durum-D. villosum amphidiploids, two accessions and their parental forms - the durum wheat cultivars Gergana and Argonavt and a landrace of the D. villosum - were studied. The following parameters were determined: callus induction, plant regeneration, yield of albino and green regenerants. It was found that the callus induction of the two studied amphidiploids differed significantly from that of the parental forms (2.1-7.2 %), being significantly higher, 30.7 and 16.5 %, respectively. Regardless of the difference in callus induction, the amphidiploids did not significantly differ from the parental forms in their regeneration ability. The yield of albino plants exceeded the yield of green regenerants and followed the tendency observed in callus induction. Green plants were found only in the amphidiploid Gergana-D. villosum and in the parental form durum wheat Gergana. Plants were regenerated from the species D. villosum, although they were only albinos, showing its good responsiveness to anther culture. The established characteristics of the amphidiploids and their parental forms make their practical use highly valuable for the improvement of different types of cereal crops.

Proteomics unravels new candidate genes of Dasypyrum villosum for improving wheat quality

Wheat is one of the most widely grown and important food crops in the world, providing approximately 20% of the food energy and protein produced for human consumption. The progress of wheat breeding is seriously restricted by the narrow genetic basis of common wheat germplasms. Dasypyrum villosum, a wild grass species that is commonly used in wheat improvement, has many excellent traits such as disease resistance, drought resistance, cold resistance, strong tillering ability, and processing quality. In this study, we compared and analyzed the cultivated wheat variety Chinese Spring (CS) and D. villosum using comparative proteomics. A total of 883 different abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified. Some of these different abundant proteins are associated with defense and stress, such as the G_α subunit, zinc finger protein family, PR1, HSP family, LEA protein, and serpin family. And a total of 24 different abundant proteins are gluten proteins. There are also 24 different abundant proteins associated with starch and sucrose metabolism. These results will provide potential candidate genes and a foundation for further research on resistance and quality for wheat genetics and breeding. SIGNIFICANCE: Proteins are the direct functional molecules of living organisms. It is of great significance to study the function of plant related genes from the perspective of protein. In this study, proteomics methods based on iTRAQ were used to compare the proteomic differences between wheat varieties Chinese Spring (CS) and D. villosum. The results provide novel insight into improving the quality of wheat. It is helpful to search for potential candidate genes for improving wheat quality and elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with these genes.

Karyotyping Dasypyrum breviaristatum chromosomes with multiple oligonucleotide probes reveals the genomic divergence in Dasypyrum

The perennial species Dasypyrum breviaristatum (genome V^b) contains many potentially valuable genes for the improvement of common wheat. Construction of a detailed karyotype of D. breviaristatum chromosomes will be useful for the detection of Dasypyrum chromatin in wheat background. We established the standard karyotype of 1V^b-7V^b chromosomes through nondenaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) technique using 28 oligonucleotide probes from the wheat - D. breviaristatum partial amphiploid TDH-2 (AABBV^bV^b) and newly identified wheat - D. breviaristatum disomic translocation and addition lines D2138 (6V^bS.2V^bL), D2547 (4V^b), and D2532 (3V^bS.6V^bL) by comparative molecular marker analysis. The ND-FISH with multiple oligo probes was conducted on the durum wheat - D. villosum amphiploid TDV-1 and large karyotype differences between D. breviaristatum and D. villosum was revealed. These ND-FISH probes will be valuable for screening the wheat - Dasypyrum derivative lines for chromosome identification, and the newly developed wheat - D. breviaristatum addition lines may broaden the gene pool of wheat breeding. The differences between D. villosum and D. breviaristatum chromosomes revealed by ND-FISH will help us understand evolutionary divergence of repetitive sequences within the genus Dasypyrum.

Genetic Diversity and Evolutionary Analyses Reveal the Powdery Mildew Resistance Gene Pm21 Undergoing Diversifying Selection

Wheat powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is a devastating disease that threatens wheat production and yield worldwide. The powdery mildew resistance gene Pm21, originating from wheat wild relative Dasypyrum villosum, encodes a coiled-coil, nucleotide-binding site, leucine-rich repeat (CC-NBS-LRR) protein and confers broad-spectrum resistance to wheat powdery mildew. In the present study, we isolated 73 Pm21 alleles from different powdery mildew-resistant D. villosum accessions, among which, 38 alleles were non-redundant. Sequence analysis identified seven minor insertion-deletion (InDel) polymorphisms and 400 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the 38 non-redundant Pm21 alleles. The nucleotide diversity of the LRR domain was significantly higher than those of the CC and NB-ARC domains. Further evolutionary analysis indicated that the solvent-exposed LRR residues of Pm21 alleles had undergone diversifying selection (dN/dS = 3.19734). In addition, eight LRR motifs and four amino acid sites in the LRR domain were also experienced positive selection, indicating that these motifs and sites play critical roles in resistance specificity. The phylogenetic tree showed that 38 Pm21 alleles were divided into seven classes. Classes A (including original Pm21), B and C were the major classes, including 26 alleles (68.4%). We also identified three non-functional Pm21 alleles from four susceptible homozygous D. villosum lines (DvSus-1 to DvSus-4) and two susceptible wheat-D. villosum chromosome addition lines (DA6V#1 and DA6V#3). The genetic variations of non-functional Pm21 alleles involved point mutation, deletion and insertion, respectively. The results also showed that the non-functional Pm21 alleles in the two chromosome addition lines both came from the susceptible donors of D. villosum. This study gives a new insight into the evolutionary characteristics of Pm21 alleles and discusses how to sustainably utilize Pm21 in wheat production. This study also reveals the sequence variants and origins of non-functional Pm21 alleles in D. villosum populations.

Pairing and Exchanging between Daypyrum villosum Chromosomes 6V#2 and 6V#4 in the Hybrids of Two Different Wheat Alien Substitution Lines

Normal pairing and exchanging is an important basis to evaluate the genetic relationship between homologous chromosomes in a wheat background. The pairing behavior between 6V#2 and 6V#4, two chromosomes from different Dasypyrum villosum accessions, is still not clear. In this study, two wheat alien substitution lines, 6V#2 (6A) and 6V#4 (6D), were crossed to obtain the F₁ hybrids and F₂ segregating populations, and the testcross populations were obtained by using the F₁ as a parent crossed with wheat variety Wan7107. The chromosomal behavior at meiosis in pollen mother cells (PMCs) of the F₁ hybrids was observed using a genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) technique. Exchange events of two alien chromosomes were investigated in the F₂ populations using nine polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers located on the 6V short arm. The results showed that the two alien chromosomes could pair with each other to form ring- or rod-shaped bivalent chromosomes in 79.76% of the total PMCs, and most were pulled to two poles evenly at anaphase I. Investigation of the F₂ populations showed that the segregation ratios of seven markers were consistent with the theoretical values 3:1 or 1:2:1, and recombinants among markers were detected. A genetic linkage map of nine PCR markers for 6VS was accordingly constructed based on the exchange frequencies and compared with the physical maps of wheat and barley based on homologous sequences of the markers, which showed that conservation of sequence order compared to 6V was 6H and 6B > 6A > 6D. In the testcross populations with 482 plants, seven showed susceptibility to powdery mildew (PM) and lacked amplification of alien chromosomal bands. Six other plants had amplification of specific bands of both the alien chromosomes at multiple sites, which suggested that the alien chromosomes had abnormal separation behavior in about 1.5% of the PMCs in F₁, which resulted in some gametes containing two alien chromosomes. In addition, three new types of chromosome substitution were developed. This study lays a foundation for alien allelism tests and further assessment of the genetic relationship among 6V#2, 6V#4, and their wheat homoeologous chromosomes.

villosum#4 alien chromosome lines

Background

Dasypyrum villosum is an important wild species of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and harbors many desirable genes that can be used to improve various traits of wheat. Compared with other D. villosum accessions, D. villosum#4 still remains less studied. In particular, chromosomes of D. villosum#4 except 6V#4 have not been introduced into wheat by addition or substitution and translocation, which is an essential step to identify and apply the alien desired genes. RNA-seq technology can generate large amounts of transcriptome sequences and accelerate the development of chromosome-specific molecular markers and assisted selection of alien chromosome line.

Results

We obtained the transcriptome of D. villosum#4 via a high-throughput sequencing technique, and then developed 76 markers specific to each chromosome arm of D. villosum#4 based on the bioinformatic analysis of the transcriptome data. The D. villosum#4 sequences containing the specific DNA markers were expected to be involved in different genes, among which most had functions in metabolic processes. Consequently, we mapped these newly developed molecular markers to the homologous chromosome of barley and obtained the chromosome localization of these markers on barley genome. Then we analyzed the collinearity of these markers among D. villosum, wheat, and barley. In succession, we identified six types of T. aestivum-D. villosum#4 alien chromosome lines which had one or more than one D. villosum#4 chromosome in the cross and backcross BC₃F₅ populations between T. durum–D. villosum#4 amphidiploid TH3 and wheat cv. Wan7107 by employing the selected specific markers, some of which were further confirmed to be translocation or addition lines by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH).

Conclusion

Seventy-six PCR markers specific to chromosomes of D. villosum#4 based on transcriptome data were developed in the current study and their collinearity among D. villosum, wheat, and barley were carried out. Six types of Triticum aestivum-D. villosum#4 alien chromosome lines were identified by using 12 developed markers and some of which were further confirmed by GISH. These novel T. aestivum-D. villosum#4 chromosome lines have great potential to be used for the introduction of desirable genes from D. villosum#4 into wheat by chromosomal translocation to breed new wheat varieties.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5630-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Isolation of two new retrotransposon sequences and development of molecular and cytological markers for Dasypyrum villosum (L.)

Dasypyrum villosum is a valuable genetic resource for wheat improvement. With the aim to efficiently monitor the D. villosum chromatin introduced into common wheat, two novel retrotransposon sequences were isolated by RAPD, and were successfully converted to D. villosum-specific SCAR markers. In addition, we constructed a chromosomal karyotype of D. villosum. Our results revealed that different accessions of D. villosum showed slightly different signal patterns, indicating that distribution of repeats did not diverge significantly among D. villosum accessions. The two SCAR markers and FISH karyotype of D. villosum could be used for efficient and precise identification of D. villosum chromatin in wheat breeding.

Genetic, Physical and Comparative Mapping of the Powdery Mildew Resistance Gene Pm21 Originating from Dasypyrum villosum

Pm21, originating from wheat wild relative Dasypyrum villosum, confers immunity to all known races of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) and has been widely utilized in wheat breeding. However, little is known on the genetic basis of the Pm21 locus. In the present study, four seedling-susceptible D. villosum lines (DvSus-1 ∼ DvSus-4) were identified from different natural populations. Based on the collinearity among genomes of Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza, and Triticeae, a set of 25 gene-derived markers were developed declaring the polymorphisms between DvRes-1 carrying Pm21 and DvSus-1. Fine genetic mapping of Pm21 was conducted by using an extremely large F₂ segregation population derived from the cross DvSus-1/DvRes-1. Then Pm21 was narrowed to a 0.01-cM genetic interval defined by the markers 6VS-08.4b and 6VS-10b. Three DNA markers, including a resistance gene analog marker, were confirmed to co-segregate with Pm21. Moreover, based on the susceptible deletion line Y18-S6 induced by ethyl methanesulfonate treatment conducted on Yangmai 18, Pm21 was physically mapped into a similar interval. Comparative analysis revealed that the orthologous regions of the interval carrying Pm21 were narrowed to a 112.5 kb genomic region harboring 18 genes in Brachypodium, and a 23.2 kb region harboring two genes in rice, respectively. This study provides a high-density integrated map of the Pm21 locus, which will contribute to map-based cloning of Pm21.

Identification of Novel Chromosomal Aberrations Induced by (60)Co-γ-Irradiation in Wheat-Dasypyrum villosum Lines

Mutations induced by radiation are widely used for developing new varieties of plants. To better understand the frequency and pattern of irradiation-induced chromosomal rearrangements, we irradiated the dry seeds of Chinese Spring (CS)-Dasypyrum villosum nullisomic-tetrasomic (6A/6D) addition (6V) line (2n = 44), WD14, with (60)Co-γ-rays at dosages of 100, 200, and 300 Gy. The M₀ and M₁ generations were analyzed using Feulgen staining and non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) by using oligonucleotide probes. Abnormal mitotic behavior and chromosomes with structural changes were observed in the M₀ plants. In all, 39 M₁ plants had structurally changed chromosomes, with the B genome showing the highest frequency of aberrations and tendency to recombine with chromosomes of the D genome. In addition, 19 M₁ plants showed a variation in chromosome number. The frequency of chromosome loss was considerably higher for 6D than for the alien chromosome 6V, indicating that 6D is less stable after irradiation. Our findings suggested that the newly obtained γ-induced genetic materials might be beneficial for future wheat breeding programs and functional gene analyses.