Identification of qPHS.sicau-1B and qPHS.sicau-3D from synthetic wheat for pre-harvest sprouting resistance wheat improvement

Abstract

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) causes serious damage that leads to deterioration in overall quality and decreased yield and reduction of grain yield in cereal. In this study, two major quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qPHS.sicau-3D and qPHS.sicau-1B, were detected in synthetic wheat (SHW-L1) and were derived from Aegilops tauschii AS60 (deep dormant) and Triticum turgidum AS2255 (medium PHS-resistant). qPHS.sicau-1B is located in the region near the telomere of 1BS, and qPHS.sicau-3D is located on the end of 3DL; these QTLs explain approximately 20.99% and 42.47% of the phenotypic variation. Pyramiding of both QTLs showed superior PHS resistance in recombinant inbred lines (RILs). The array-based SNP markers AX-94924265 for qPHS.sicau-1B and AX-94415259 for qPHS.sicau-3D were successfully converted to Kompetitive Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP) and STS markers. L10-1580 is a light red breeding materials selected from SHW-L1-derived breeding lines that harbors the PHS-tolerant elite alleles which showed similar germination level with SHW-L1 and better resistance than other common wheat parents. L10-1580 harbors the elite alleles AX-94924265_GG/AX-94415259_B which showed similar PHS resistance as SHW-L1 and better resistance than other common wheat parents. Therefore, these QTLs for PHS resistance obtained from synthetic wheat could combine or coexist with other elite agronomic traits in high-yield wheat cultivars.