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Wheat Information Service
Number 72: 64-66 (1991)


Physical mapping of wheat genes using in situ hybridization method and deletions

Y. Mukai

Department of Biological Sciences, Osaka Kyoiku University, Ikeda, Osaka 563, Japan


Physical map reflects the accurate location of genes. A cytogenetic map is also a low resolution physical map. Genetic map is derived from the frequency of recombination during meiosis. There are many reports on differences between genetic and physical maps for wheat chromosomes. There are two methods for physical mapping in wheat. One is the use of deletions induced genetically by the gametocidal chromosomes, which was developed in Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Spring by Endo (1988, 1990). If partial chromosome deletions between the centromere and telomere become available, some genes could directly be mapped to the deleted regions. The other is the use of in situ hybridization (ISH) technique with DNA probes. While ISH studies have been generally restricted to highly repeated sequences in wheat, in recent years it has been possible to localize single-copy sequences on metaphase chromosomes of human cells (Lichter 1990). In this paper, I will review some recent work in our research group on physical mapping of wheat genes. The present results were carried out with the collaboration of T. Endo, B. S. Gill and M. Yamamoto. This work was financially supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences for the Japan-U.S. Cooperative Science Program.

1. Gross morphology --- Q

Using deletions induced by a gametocidal chromosome from Aegilops longissima, the speltoid-suppression gene Q was first mapped in the distal 46% of the long arm of chromosome 5A (Endo and Mukai 1988). This locus was further narrowed down to the distal 13% of the 5A long arm (Tsujimoto and Noda 1990).

2. Male sterility --- ms1

A male sterile mutant of common wheat, "Cornerstone" is known to be located on the short arm of chromosome 4B (Discoll 1975). The ISH analysis using repeated DNA sequences probe (pSc119) revealed that this cultivar lost half of the terminal ISH site on the short arm of chromosome 4B. A terminal deletion in the short arm of chromosome 4B of Chinese Spring which lacked the distal 13% of the short arm including a terminal large ISH site, was completely male sterile in the homozygote (Endo et al 1991). Thus, a gene controlling male fertility is located in the deleted terminal region.

3. Meiotic characters (Pairing homoeologous) --- Ph1

ISH analysis of a Ph mutant of Chinese Spring and duplication/deficiency stocks of chromosome 5B of durum demonstrated that the Ph gene was found to be tightly linked to the ISH site. The site was physically mapped at positon 0.39FL (fraction length, the fraction of the total arm length from the centromere) on the long arm of chromosome 5B.

4. Nucleolus organizer (18S-5.8S-26SrRNA) --- Nor

Direct evidence on the physical location of rRNA within Nor has been obtained from ISH experiments. Appeles et al (1980) found 18S-26SrRNA sites on chromosomes 1B (Nor-B1), 6B (Nor-B2) and 5D (Nor-D3). Recently, Mukai et al (1991) reported a new locus at position 0.76FL of the chromosome 7D long arm (Nor-D4), and confirmed the Nor locus in the short arm of chromosome 1A at the telomeric end (Nor-A1).

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