Genetic Mapping of ms1s, a Recessive Gene for Male Sterility in Common Wheat

The utilization of heterosis is an important way to improve wheat yield, and the production of wheat hybrid seeds mainly relies on male-sterile lines. Male sterility in line 15 Fan 03 derived from a cross of 72,180 and Xiaoyan 6 is controlled by a single recessive gene. The gene was mapped to the distal region of chromosome 4BS in a genetic interval of 1.4 cM and physical distance of 6.57 Mb between SSR markers Ms4BS42 and Ms4BS199 using an F2 population with 1205 individuals. Sterile individuals had a deletion of 4.57 Mb in the region presumed to carry the Ms1 locus. The allele for sterility was therefore named ms1s. Three CAPS markers were developed and verified from the region upstream of the deleted fragment and can be used for ms1s marker-assisted selection in wheat hybrid breeding. This work will enrich the utilization of male sterility genetic resources.

Comparative evaluation of hybrids of improved T. sphaerococcum perc.

The article presents the characteristics of the original T. sphaerococcum Perc. and its improved form, as well as the selected macromutant soft wheat. It was shown that macromutant soft wheat differed by a higher coefficient of specific productivity Kup (0.96), whereas there was practically no difference between improved (0.86) and initial Sharada (0.88). The mass of grain per spike of an improved form and macromutant soft wheat is 1/3 more than that of the original Sharada. It is associated with the influence of the third elementary diploid genome. The effect of different genotypes of soft wheat on the production indicators of improved Sharada varieties is assessed. To test the effect of soft wheat genotypes on the Sharada improved productivity, we crossed it with other forms of soft wheat. When hybridizing Sharada improved with samples of soft wheat, hybrid forms of soft wheat are more productive. It is established that higher productivity of soft wheat is inherited concatenated. Comparative analysis of hybrid forms of the combination: Sharada improved × soft macromutant wheat showed that the superiority of the type of soft wheat by weight of grain per spike over the T. sphaerococcum Perc. is preserved. The crossing of Sharada improved with a closely related macromutant soft wheat did not significantly increase the production characteristics of the first. A slight increase in the grain mass per spike is observed in T. sphaerococcum Perc. when it is crossed with T.aestivum.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

ABSTRACTWheat is one of the world’s most widely grown, traded, and consumed crops. This article reviews the interdisciplinary literature on human-wheat interactions, tracing how various actors engage with wheat up until its point of consumption. I look first at wheat as a seed, examining efforts to transform wheat over time through farmer selection and scientific breeding, and the emergence of high-yielding wheat, hybrid wheat, and genetically modified wheat. Second, I look at wheat as a plant and what it means to farm wheat. I highlight two key dimensions of farmer-wheat interactions—farmers’ choice of variety and their management of risk. Finally, I look at wheat as a grain and the practices of transportation, sorting, and trade that mediate flows of harvested grain from field to market. Through reviewing these three areas of literature, the article reveals the social worlds that both shape and are shaped by this globally significant crop.