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4) Breeding for resistance to yellow mosaic virus and powdery mildew: These two severe diseases are often epidemic in the warm regions west of the Kanto district. Some cultivars highly resistant to these diseases have been developed, such as Horoshirikomugi (Norin 114), Takunekomugi (Norin 115), which are resistant to wheat yellow mosaic virus, and Ushiokomugi which is resistant to powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe graminis de Candolle f. sp. tritici Em. Marchal.


5) Breeding for resistance to preharvest sprouting: In Japan, the prevention of preharvest sprouting damage is an important problem in wheat production because harvesting time, early June to late July, coincides with the rainy season. Japanese wheat cultivars, Igachikugo Oregon and Zenkojikomugi (Norin 109), are mainly used as gene sources to prevent preharvest sprouting.


6) Breeding for improved grain quality: Japanese wheat is mainly used for making noodles. Superior cultivars suitable for noodle-making are characterized by an excellent milling score, creamy-white flour, low amylose content, etc. as well as low deterioration caused by rain. The amylose content of flour shows a highly negative correlation with the eating quality. Among the Japanese wheat cultivars, the breeding line Kanto 107 and its parent Kanto 79 were found to show a lower apparent amylose content (21.5% and 22.0%, respectively) than typical wheat cultivars (28~29%) (Kuroda et al. 1989), and the wheat mutants with a much lower apparent amylose content (14.0~16.7%) were induced by ethylmethanesulphonate (EMS) treatment (Oda et al. 1992).


7) Breeding high-yielding wheat varieties using F1 hybrids: Initially, the male sterility from the Triticum timopheevi cytoplasm and the fertility-restorer gene Rf3 from Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta var. duhamelianum were used for F1 hybrids (Zeven 1967; Wilson 1968; Tahir 1970; Tahir and Tsunewaki 1971; Araki 1990). However, the F1 hybrids could not be used commercially because they were susceptible to scab due to the T. timopheevi cytoplasm. In addition, the Rf3 gene had incomplete restoring ability and thus low production of F1 seeds. Recently, extensive efforts to breed F1 hybrids have been made using the Sv type cytoplasm from Aegilops kotschyi and a wheat-rye translocation line with the 1 BL-1 RS chromosome constitution (Toriyama et al. 1993; Nonaka et al. 1993). The fertility-restorer gene Rfv1 for the Sv type cytoplasm is carried on the short arm of chromosome 1B of wheat. The translocation line with a 1BL-1RS chromosome constitution and normal type cytoplasm (e.g., 911-B-8-11 in
Fig. 3) is used as a female parent, and an 'W' variety is backcrossed "n" times to the translocation line to develop the maintainer "A". In this process of backcrossing, plants having the 1 BL-1 RS chromosome constitution can be easily selected by using the leaf rust resistance gene Lr26 as a marker because it is carried on the 1 RS chromosome from rye. Male sterile "A" line can be developed by crossing between the maintainer "A" and "A" line having the S' type cytoplasm also developed by backcrossing (e.g., (Sv)-Norin 26 x "A" variety in Fig. 3). Almost all the wheat cultivars have a Rfv1 genotype because the Rfv1 gene is carried on the I BS chromosome of wheat. Therefore, this breeding system does not require the development of any specific restorer (Fig. 3).

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