Open AccessElucidating the genetic basis of biomass accumulation and radiation use efficiency in spring wheat and its role in yield potential
Author(s) -
Molero Gemma,
Joynson Ryan,
PineraChavez Francisco J.,
Gardiner LauraJayne,
RiveraAmado Carolina,
Hall Anthony,
Reynolds Matthew P.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plant biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.525
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1467-7652
pISSN - 1467-7644
DOI - 10.1111/pbi.13052
Subject(s) - biology , germplasm , biomass (ecology) , agronomy , crop , plant breeding , common wheat , genetic diversity , phenology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , chromosome , population , gene , demography , sociology
Summary One of the major challenges for plant scientists is increasing wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) yield potential ( YP ). A significant bottleneck for increasing YP is achieving increased biomass through optimization of radiation use efficiency ( RUE ) along the crop cycle. Exotic material such as landraces and synthetic wheat has been incorporated into breeding programmes in an attempt to alleviate this; however, their contribution to YP is still unclear. To understand the genetic basis of biomass accumulation and RUE , we applied genome‐wide association study ( GWAS ) to a panel of 150 elite spring wheat genotypes including many landrace and synthetically derived lines. The panel was evaluated for 31 traits over 2 years under optimal growing conditions and genotyped using the 35K wheat breeders array. Marker‐trait association identified 94 SNP s significantly associated with yield, agronomic and phenology‐related traits along with RUE and final biomass ( BM _ PM ) at various growth stages that explained 7%–17% of phenotypic variation. Common SNP markers were identified for grain yield, BM _ PM and RUE on chromosomes 5A and 7A. Additionally, landrace and synthetic derivative lines showed higher thousand grain weight ( TGW ), BM _ PM and RUE but lower grain number ( GM 2) and harvest index ( HI ). Our work demonstrates the use of exotic material as a valuable resource to increase YP . It also provides markers for use in marker‐assisted breeding to systematically increase BM _ PM , RUE and TGW and avoid the TGW / GM 2 and BM _ PM / HI trade‐off. Thus, achieving greater genetic gains in elite germplasm while also highlighting genomic regions and candidate genes for further study.