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Enhancing wheat field performance and response to abiotic stress with novel growth-regulatory alleles

Reference	BBS/E/J/000CA295
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Paul Nicholson
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor John Snape
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	224,395
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/07/2007
End date	31/12/2012
Duration	66 months

Abstract

The "Green Revolution" dwarfing (Rht) alleles that increase wheat yields under high input conditions are orthologues of the Arabidopsis GAI gene and encode mutant DELLA proteins. DELLAs are repressors of plant growth that are degraded in the presence of gibberellin (GA) whereas the gai/Rht mutants are insensitive to GA. Most UK wheat varieties carry the semi-dwarfing Rht2 (Rht-D1b) allele but variation in height between genotypes suggests that other loci play a role in determining stature. We aim to identify these loci through co-localisation of quantitative stature traits identified in UK wheat germplasm with genes in the GA-DELLA pathway. The additional dwarfing genes, whether used alone or in combination with existing Rht genes, should decrease the use of growth-regulating chemicals. There are reports of Rht mutations affecting the responses of wheat to stress, and a negative correlation between GA content or responsiveness and stress tolerance has been documented. Moreover, our recent work in Arabidopsis implicates the GA-DELLA pathway as a central regulator linking GA, abscisic acid and ethylene in a common stress-related network. It is timely to translate these key discoveries into crop improvement to enhance the tolerance of hexaploid wheat to environmental stresses without compromising productivity. To this end, we will take a knowledge based approach to compare Arabidopsis and wheat DELLA-mediated stress responses. We will use available genetic stocks to determine whether existing, but relatively untested, Rht alleles affect tolerance to salt, drought and heat stress. Near-isogenic lines will be tested under controlled and field conditions to select alleles that will be taken forward by introgression into elite varieties. Novel alleles of genes of the GA-DELLA pathway will also be assessed for effects on tolerance to abiotic stresses. The appropriate alleles will be transferred to modern elite varieties for use by the UK wheat breeding industry.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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