Association of genes controlling starch synthesis with main productivity traits in common wheat lines with the introgressions of the alien genetic material

Given that wheat endosperm comprises 65–85 % starch, its content significantly influences the weight of the grain. In the present study, a total of 40 common wheat lines with the genetic material of Triticum dicoccoides, T. dicoccum, T. durum, T. spelta, and T. kiharae, in addition to their parent forms, were collected for genetic analysis. The objective was to study the polymorphism of nine genes that control starch synthesis to identify the association of allelic variants of these genes with productivity traits in Belarus. Furthermore, the study sought to assess the influence of alien genetic material on wheat productivity. A polymorphism was not detected only for TaCWI-5D and TaAGP-L-1B genes. The genes TaSus2-2B, TaSus1-7A, TaCWI-4A, TaAGP-S1-7A, and TaBT1-6B significantly contributed to the variability of the thousand kernel weight, while TaSus2-2A, TaSus1-7A, and TaCWI-4A were associated with the grain number per spike and TaSus2-2A and TaSus2-2B with the productive tillering. The favorable haplotypes frequency in wheat relatives was slightly lower than that of varieties, while in introgressive lines it was at the level of varieties. The introgression of the alien genetic material into the wheat genome did not adversely affect the main productivity indicator – the thousand kernel weight, which on average, during the 4-year period, was significantly higher in introgression lines (38.51 g) than in varieties (36.91 g).

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