GrainGenes

THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Far Eastern Branch, Cereal Crops Department, 107 Karl Marx str., Khabarovsk, 680009 Russia.

Achievements and problems of spring wheat selection in the Russian far east.

Ivan Shindin.

Which spring wheats to use for gene pyramiding to create wheat cultivars for far-eastern Russia are determined best by considering the agronomic characteristics of the parental lines and climate of the region. The climate of this area of Russia is characterized by conditions of drought during tillering and an excess of moisture during anthesis, grain ripening, and harvest. The high humidity during flowering and preharvest (95-100 %) causes disease epidemics and lodging of the crop.

From our evaluation of wheat germplasm, we have established a list of cultivars that are best used for wheat breeding in far-eastern Russia. Cultivars with a high number of grains/spike, 1,000-kernel weight, yield/spike, and yield/plant include Lutescens 50, Lutescens 51, Primorskaya 1737, and Primorskaya 1748 from Russia; Siete Cerros 66, Sonora 64, and Nadadores from Mexico; Bailly, Mida, and Bledso from the U.S. Cultivars best for breeding semidwarf plants resistant to lodging include Nainari 60, Sonora 64, and Indus 66. Acadia, Manitou, and IAC-4 are disease- and lodging-resistant high-yielding cultivars that also are drought tolerant. Cultivars resistant to F. culmorum and leaf and stem rust are Noroeste 66, Nainari 60, and Weibulls.

We have developed criteria for selecting and discarding breeding materials based on our evaluation of cultivars. When breeding for high yield, heterozygote combinations where one parent has high combining capacity are preferable. Reduced vegetation period, shorter height, and higher yields per spike and per plant are found in `winter x spring' crosses over in `spring x spring' crosses. Thus, `winter x spring' crosses can be used for breeding high-yielding spring cultivars.

Accounting for the climate of far-eastern Russia, quality-traits, and level of agriculture expected between the present and 2010, we developed a model of the ideal wheat cultivar. We identified 30 traits in this cultivar that are important for wheat improvement.

Forty-five cultivars of spring wheat have resulted from the work of far-east breeders. Six of the 45 . Dalnevostochnaya 10, Khabarovchanka, Amurskaya 75, Amurskaya 90, Primorskaya 14, and Primorskaya 41, are planted on 100 % of wheat hectarage in far-eastern Russia. In 1996, a state commission evaluated the new high-yielding cultivar Zaryamka that was created by breeders in Khabarov (I. Shindin, E. Meshkova, and I. Lomakina). This cultivar is moderately resistant to Fusarium spp., highly resistant to U. tritici, and resistant to shattering and sprouting in the spike. Zaryamka also has high-quality grain and flour.

In spite of these successes in spring wheat breeding, there are still unresolved problems, mainly in breeding activity. Hopefully, we can increase the potential yield by increasing its resistance to climactic factors, drought high humidity, and waterlogging. The productivity of a cultivar can be evaluated by assessing the areas where it is growing. For developing resistant cultivars, we need to focus on 1) using germplasm from diverse areas; 2) using forms with opposite characteristics for environmental traits, which will increase variability for high adaptability; and 3) evaluating the parental cultivars and hybrids in a variety of growing conditions.

Fusarium is a very serious problem in far-eastern Russia. Cultivars from our institute are not resistant in years of high humidity. No resistant cultivars are known. Thus, we concentrated our breeding efforts on developing moderately resistant cultivars using the spring wheats Monakenka, Zaryanka, and Nainari 60 (Russia), and Dunun 120 (China); and the winter wheats Odesskaya 16 and Odesskaya 51 (Ukraine) and Scout, Parker, and Redcoat (U.S.). We continue to try and identify cultivars highly resistant to Fusarium.

Our breeding efforts on viral pathogens of wheat are just beginning. Enzymatic degradation (ED) of grain by fungi, high precipitation, and dew in periods of grain-filling of wheat cause losses of yield of 15-30 %. Losses can be even greater during years when lodging and untimely harvests occur in addition. This problem has not yet been addressed by breeders. We have not identified any cultivars resistant to ED, necessitating the development of programs to find sources of resistance to ED and viruses. There also have been no releases of high-gluten quality cultivars in far-eastern Russia. However, we have promising lines with high glutenin that may be released for state cultivar evaluation soon. Co-operation among scientists of far-eastern Russia will help to resolve these problems in the future.

(Text translated from Russian by E.V. Boiko)

THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Information and Computation Centre, P.O. Emmaus, 171330, Tver, Russia.

S.P. Martynov and T.V. Dobrotvorskaya.

The most common parents of Russian spring wheat released from 1980 to 1996.

The pedigrees of spring wheat released from 1980 to 1996 in the former U.S.S.R. and post-Soviet Russia were studied with the aid of the Genetic Resources Information System (GRIS2). With the exception of three cultivars having questionable pedigrees, 115 cultivars were analyzed including 89 from Russia, 17 from Kazakhstan, 6 from the Ukraine, and 3 from Belarus.

Our objective was to determine which improved cultivars contributed directly to the parentage of the current spring wheats. The pedigree of each spring wheat was traced to a named cultivar. Breeding lines used as parents of cultivars were traced through their pedigrees to named cultivars. A value for the direct coefficient of parentage between a parental cultivar and a progeny cultivar was calculated. This value excluded collateral relationships that may have existed between parents and progeny, because of common parents earlier in the pedigree. The coefficient of parentage for each parent was summed across all 115 progeny cultivars and divided by 115 to estimate the percent ancestral contribution. The coefficients of parentage values were pooled within some cultivar groups in some cases.

Saratovskaya-29 and Bezostaya-1 were the most common parents of spring wheats released in the former U.S.S.R between 1980 and 1996. (Table 1). The HRSW Saratovskaya-29 (Albidum-24/Lutescens-55-11) was bred in the early 1950s at the Research Institute of South-East, Saratov. Because of its drought resistance and good baking quality, Saratovskaya-29 reached a peak of nearly 21.2 million ha in the former U.S.S.R in 1996. Bezostaya-1 (Lutescens-17/Skorospelka-2) is a well-known, HRWW cultivar widely used in Russia and abroad, because of its high yield and good bread making qualities.

Winter wheats accounted for 10.6 % of the total contribution in pedigrees of new spring cultivars. Crossing of winter and spring wheats was done commonly in breeding programs to increase of yield potential. These crosses are most common in central Russia (18.8 %) and the Middle Volga (20.8 %) regions, but rare in the Lower Volga (1.9 %) and Kazakhstan (7.4 %) areas. Winter by spring wheat crosses are common in Ural and west and east Siberia (Table 2).

Table 1. The percent of ancestral contribution of the five most common parents of Russian spring wheats released between 1980 and 1996.

¹ Complete contribution shown in parentheses.

Table 2. Percent ancestral contribution of the most common parents of spring wheat cultivars released in different regions of the former U.S.S.R.

¹ Complete contribution shown in parentheses.

The considerable variation of the most common parent of each region (Table 2) can be explained by quite diverse climatic conditions (temperature and rainfall). Moskovskaya-35 (Minskaya/Bexostaya-1) was the most common parent in central Russia. Saratovskaya-46 (C-1616/Selkirk//C-1615/Saratovskaya-38), Saratovskaya-29, and Saratovskaya-55 (Saratovskaya-29/Saratovskaya-51), red and white hard spring cultivars from the Saratov Research Institute, are used widely as parents for cultivars from the Volga region. Within the Ural cultivars, the most common parents were Bezostaya-1, the cold-tolerant Scandinavian wheats Svenno and Vendel, Novosibirskaya-67 (a mutant of Novosibirskaya-7), and local breeding material Strela (Diamant/open pollination) and Kometa (Garnet/open pollination). The most common parent in Kazakhstan is Saratovskaya-29. Tselinnaya-21 (Lastochka/Saratovskaya-29), Shortandinskaya-25 (Saratovskaya-36//(Lutescens-38) Akmolinka-1/Akmolinka-6), and Novosibirskaya-67 are also common parents in Kazakhstan. In western Siberia, Saratovskaya-29 and Scandinavian wheats are the most common parents. However, Skala (Udarnitsa/Garnet//selection from an east Siberian local variety) and Novosibirskaya-67 were widely used. Skala is the most common and Skorospelka-uluchshennaya the second most common parent in eastern Siberia. Thus, Russian wheat breeding programs have specific parents depending on the breeding region.

SARATOV STATE VAVILOV AGRICULTURAL ACADEMY

Department of Biotechnology, Selection, and Genetics, 1. Theatre sq., Saratov 410710, Russia.

The interaction of 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid with membranes and proteins of wheat callus.

S.V. Tuchin.

Fluorescent probes, such as 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (ANS), fluoresce more in hydrophobic than in hydrophilic environments. Therefore, they are useful for the study of the structure and interaction among proteins and membranes. Because ANS has a negative charge, it can be used as a probe to study charged surfaces. Callus cultures of spring bread wheat were grown on Linsmaer and Skoog's media with two levels of water chemical potential: -9 J/mol (control calli) and -36 J/mol (adapted calli). Crude extracts of the callus tissues were obtained and different amounts of KCl were added after 30 days. Ten different KCl solutions (from 0.1 to 1.0 mol/l) were used. Fluorescence of ANS was excited at wavelength 360 nm and registered at 480 nm. The addition of ANS to extracts resulted in an increase in fluorescence, indicating that ANS interacts with the hydrophobic core of membranes and proteins. The fluorescence of ANS in pure solutions of KCl was several times less than that in the calli extracts. The effect of KCl may be attributed to an increase in ANS binding, facilitated by cation suppression of electrostatic repulsion between the anionic ANS and negative groups of proteins and lipids. As a result, the intensity of fluorescence can be increased gradually via salt concentration in the extracts of both types of calli. However, the slow increase of the fluorescence was disrupted at several points. Three peaks of ANS fluorescence were found, corresponding to 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 mol/l of KCl concentrations for extracts of control calli. A cation effect due to neutralization of negative charges on the surface of proteins and membranes cannot explain this. Sharp changes in fluorescence intensity probably cause changes in the interaction between bound dye molecules and their hydrophobic microenvironment induced by the addition of salt. Only two peaks (0.6 and 0.9 mol/l of KCl concentrations) of ANS intensity fluorescence were observed for extracts of adapted calli. The absence of a peak at 0.3 mol/l indicates that the structure of the hydrophobic microenvironment was less labile for ANS molecules than for the control calli.

Saratovskaya 64, a new spring wheat variety created by combining conventional and haploid breeding.

A.I. Kusmenko and T.I. Djatchouk.

Saratovskaya 64 originated from the cross made in 1986 using the local advanced line S-1976 as female and the local variety Saratovskaya 60 as male. In spring of 1987, 100 grains of an F₂ generation were used to obtain homozygous lines using anther culture. The DH variety Saratovskaya 64 (S-2045 var. erythrospermum) was selected from among 39 DH lines. The grain yield of Saratovskaya 64 is given in Table 1.

Saratovskaya 64 had the highest yields compared with the control groups Saratovskaya 42 and Saratvskaya 58, in test plots from 1990-96. The yield was 118.9-156.4 % greater than that of Saratovskaya 42 and 106.5-120.9 % greater than that of Saratovskaya 58. The highest yield of this variety was 3.97 T/h in 1990, an increase of 135.5 % over the check Saratovskaya 42. In the dry year of 1995, the increase in yield over the best check Saratovskaya 58 was 0.22 T/ha. Ecological testing at three locations showed yield increases from 0.17 to 0.36 T/ha. The 1,000-kernel weight (average from 1994-96) was 36.4 g compared to 34.8 g in Saratovskaya 58. The baking quality data of Saratovskaya 64 are given in the Table 2.

Morphologically, Saratovskaya 64 has higher tillering and plant density compared with check varieties. Saratovskaya 64 is more tolerant to virus diseases, and may serve as source of resistance for wheat breeding programs. Thus, the anther culture method can produce breeding material adapted to extreme climatic conditions.

Table 1. Yield performance (T/ha)of the doubled-haploid variety Saratovskaya 64.

Table 2. A summary of the baking quality data of the new wheat variety Saratovskaya 64, compared to a control.

The leaf rust-resistant somaclone of spring bread wheat.

Yu.V. Italianskaya and S.V. Tuchin.

The leaf rust-resistant somaclonal variant L 184 from the spring bread wheat rust-susceptible cultivar Ershovskaya 32 was obtained through cell selection for osmotic stress resistance followed by plant regeneration. After infection with rust, this line appeared to have the metabolic changes typically correlated with disease resistance, i.e., the formation of lignin-like polymers in damaged cells and sharp increases (as compared with the parental cultivar) in the activity of enzymes that have been proposed to play an important role in the metabolism of phenolics; peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (Table 3).

Table 3. Peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity (%) in rust-infected wheat leaves in the somaclonal variant L 184, derived from the rust-susceptible cultivar Epshovskaya 32.

Eight-day-old seedling leaves were inoculated with urediospores of a local wheat leaf rust population, and enzyme activities were determined 48 h later and expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Although peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities increased after pathogen invasion in both wheat samples, resistant plants of L 184 were significantly more sensitive than the susceptible parental plants. The selected somaclonal variant L 184 has retained its leaf rust-resistance for several years.

Effects of eleven Rht-genes in spring bread wheats of the Volga Region.

Yu.V. Lobachev.

The Volga Region is one of the main grain-producing regions in Russia. However, wheat yields have remained low for a number of reasons, including the lack of semidwarf varieties. We created NIL and backcross lines of the variety Saratovskaya 29, differing in 11 identified and unidentified genes, to study the influence of dwarfing genes on the major characters of spring bread wheat. The taller variety Saratovskaya 29 and its near isogenic and backcross lines were studied from 1994-96 in nonirrigated fields at the Saratov Agricultural Research Institute for South-East Regions.

The height of the taller variety Saratovskaya 29 averaged 81.5 cm during the last 3 years. The majority of the genes studied (Rht1, Rht4, Rht5, Rht14, RhtML, RhtPK, RhtR, and Q) resulted in significant decreases of plant height of 16-25 %; the Rht8 and s1 genes reduced height from 31-33 %, and the Rht3 gene by 52 %. Ear length increased significantly from 8-12 % under the influence of the Rht3 and RhtPK genes and decreased significantly (22 %) with the s1 and Q genes. The other Rht genes have had no significant influence on ear length. The variety Saratovskaya 29 had an average yield of 1.85 T/ha over the last 3 years.

The genes can be subdivided into three groups based on their influence on grain yield. The first group of genes (Rht1, Rht5, Rht14, and RhtML) had no significant influence on grain yields in the standard varieties. The second group of genes (Rht8, RhtR, and Q) significantly decreased grain yields, 19 % on the average. Lines with the Rht3, Rht4, RhtPK, and s1 genes had the greatest decrease in grain yield, 47 % on the average. There were no significant differences between the varieties studied for the number of spikelets/ear, ear weight, mean grains/ear, and 1,000-kernel weight. The number of grains/ear significantly increased by an average 41 %, but only under the influence of the RhtPK gene. The other Rht genes did not influence this component.

Thus, the genes Rht1 and Rht14, transferred from T. durum, and RhtML, are the most important genes for breeding short varieties for the nonirrigated fields of the Volga Region.

N.I. VAVILOV INSTITUTE OF GENERAL GENETICS

Gubkin st.3, 117809 Moscow, Russia.

Analysis of necrotic genotypes in Triticum aestivum L. cultivars produced in the former USSR republics.

V.A. Pukhalskiy.

Intensive breeding in different regions of the former U.S.S.R. led to production of numerous cultivars of common winter and spring wheat. Many of these cultivars were registered as commercial varieties by the State Seed Testing Commission, and presently are cultivated by individual or cooperative farmers. Other nonregistered varieties are widely used in different breeding centers for creating new varieties. We have identified necrotic genotypes in these varieties (Table 1).

Samples from the State Crop Seed Testing Commission and breeding centers were used in our experiments. The following cultivars were used as testers for winter wheat: Felix (genotype Ne1Ne1ne2ne2), Co 725082 (Ne1Ne1ne2ne2), Berthold (Ne1Ne1ne2ne2), Mironovskaya 808 (ne1ne1Ne2Ne2), Nemchinovskaya 52 (ne1ne1Ne2Ne2). Spring wheat tester-varieties included: Marquillo (Ne1Ne1ne2ne2), Opal (Ne1Ne1ne2ne2), Balaganka (ne1ne1Ne2Ne2), and Barletta 10 (ne1ne1Ne2Ne2). Crosses were made on isolated spikes. The F₁ and F₂ hybrids were grown in the field and the greenhouse.

In analyzing our results, we considered that breeders do not conduct directional selection against hybrid necrosis genes. Breeders do not select for particular necrotic genotypes either, although there is linkage between Ne2 and Lr13 (Singh and Gupta 1991). The frequency of necrotic genotypes in breeding populations most likely depends on their linkage with unknown traits that increase plant fitness. As seen from the data, modern varieties of winter wheat do not have the Ne1 gene. The frequency of the ne1ne1Ne2Ne2 genotype is 32.2 %, whereas the frequency of the ne1ne1ne2ne2 genotype is 67.8 %. In contrast to winter types, the frequency of the Ne1Ne1ne2ne2 and ne1ne1Ne2Ne2 genotypes in spring varieties is similar (19.8 %). However, the genotype ne1ne1ne2ne2 (60.4 %) is higher. A comparison of our data with that from different regions of the former U.S.S.R. (Pukhalskiy 1996) shows the important role of modern selection on the frequency of hybrid necrosis genes in T. aestivum cultivars. (This work was partly supported by the Russian State Program "Frontiers in Genetics".)

References.

Pukhalskiy VA. 1996. Data on hybrid necrosis genes in the genus Triticum L. Russ J Genet 32:469-473.

Singh RP and Gupta AK. 1991. Genes for leaf rust resistance in Indian and Pakistan wheats tested with Mexican pathotypes of Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici. Euphytica 57:27-36.

Table 1. Identification of necrotic genotypes in wheats from the State Crop Seed Testing Commission and breeding centers in the former U.S.S.R.

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