Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) is an important staple crop which is under increasing pressure to meet global food demands. Comprehensive understanding of the genetic basis of the grain yield potential, and its associated genetic regulators, is fundamental to tailoring climate smart crops. For this purpose, the Tetraploid wheat Core Collection (TCC) germplasm, a collaborative and comprehensive tetraploid collection encompassing a selection of wheat originally in the Tetraploid Germplasm Collection (TGC, Maccaferri et al., 2019) and the Global Durum Panel (GDP, Mazzucotelli et al., 2020), containing ca. 500 accession of durum cultivars, T. turgidum landraces and domesticated and wild emmer was assembled, profiled with the 90K SNP assay to explore the genetic diversity for grain yield related characters. The collections were evaluated in field trials in Cadriano (Granarolo Emilia, BO) environments over three seasons (2020-2022-2024) in 1m2 plot in an unreplicated modified augmented design with randomly distributed checks. For each accession, ten main spikes were sampled to collect spike morphology, spike fertility and grain features. Threshed seeds from spikes were weighted and scanned for grain size, grain shape and grain color traits. There were significant phenotypic variations in the germplasm i.e., number of fertile spikelets and the number of fertile florets per central spikelets ranged from 12- 31 and 1-6, respectively. High variability was observed in TCC indicating broader range of diversity within the ancestral wheat gene pool. Currently, Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) is being carried out in germplasm collection to identify key genetic loci associated with grain yield in durum wheat. Major QTLs emerging from GWAS were located on chromosome 2A with strong bibliographic evidence for grain number-related traits such as the fertile spikelet number and the number of fertile florets per central spikelet. On the other hand, two evident peaks were detected on chromosomes 6A and 7B for grain size and weight-related traits. The collected samples were stored, and qualitative analyses regarding nutritional composition, fiber and starch content were started.
Carini, E., Zeng, X., Farooq, M.A., Novi, J.B., Ceccato, L., Cappucci, C., et al. (2025). CHARACTERIZING DEVELOPMENTAL TRAITS FOR GRAIN YIELD ENHANCEMENT IN TETRAPLOID WHEAT CORE COLLECTION: FOCUS ON SPIKE FERTILITY AND GRAIN MORPHOLOGY.
CHARACTERIZING DEVELOPMENTAL TRAITS FOR GRAIN YIELD ENHANCEMENT IN TETRAPLOID WHEAT CORE COLLECTION: FOCUS ON SPIKE FERTILITY AND GRAIN MORPHOLOGY
CARINI E.;FAROOQ M. A.;NOVI J. B.;CECCATO L.;CAPPUCCI C.;CAMPANA M.;BOZZOLI M.;DE SARIO F.;CABONI M. F.;TUBEROSA R.;MACCAFERRI M.
2025
Abstract
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) is an important staple crop which is under increasing pressure to meet global food demands. Comprehensive understanding of the genetic basis of the grain yield potential, and its associated genetic regulators, is fundamental to tailoring climate smart crops. For this purpose, the Tetraploid wheat Core Collection (TCC) germplasm, a collaborative and comprehensive tetraploid collection encompassing a selection of wheat originally in the Tetraploid Germplasm Collection (TGC, Maccaferri et al., 2019) and the Global Durum Panel (GDP, Mazzucotelli et al., 2020), containing ca. 500 accession of durum cultivars, T. turgidum landraces and domesticated and wild emmer was assembled, profiled with the 90K SNP assay to explore the genetic diversity for grain yield related characters. The collections were evaluated in field trials in Cadriano (Granarolo Emilia, BO) environments over three seasons (2020-2022-2024) in 1m2 plot in an unreplicated modified augmented design with randomly distributed checks. For each accession, ten main spikes were sampled to collect spike morphology, spike fertility and grain features. Threshed seeds from spikes were weighted and scanned for grain size, grain shape and grain color traits. There were significant phenotypic variations in the germplasm i.e., number of fertile spikelets and the number of fertile florets per central spikelets ranged from 12- 31 and 1-6, respectively. High variability was observed in TCC indicating broader range of diversity within the ancestral wheat gene pool. Currently, Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) is being carried out in germplasm collection to identify key genetic loci associated with grain yield in durum wheat. Major QTLs emerging from GWAS were located on chromosome 2A with strong bibliographic evidence for grain number-related traits such as the fertile spikelet number and the number of fertile florets per central spikelet. On the other hand, two evident peaks were detected on chromosomes 6A and 7B for grain size and weight-related traits. The collected samples were stored, and qualitative analyses regarding nutritional composition, fiber and starch content were started.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
