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Wheat Information Service
Number 93: 14-18 (2001)
Research article

An Aegilops speltoides-derived scsspt gene located in T2BL.2S translocation chromosome of durum wheat

S. S. Maan and S. F. Kianian

Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58104, U. S.A.


Summary

The nuclear genome of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) is incompatible with Aegilops ventricosa cytoplasm [(vent) cytoplasm]. A species cytoplasm specific (scsspt) gene from Ae. speltoides L. improved nucleocytoplasmic compatibility and the resulting (vent) durum line was male sterile and partially female fertile. When crossed to normal durum, (vent) durum produced 28-chromosome plants with scsspt and a meiotic metaphase I configuration indicating that some of the plants had a translocation chromosome. Our objectives were to identify the translocation chromosome and determine the chromosome carrying scsspt. We crossed (vent) durum to a set of 14 double-ditelosomics of Langdon durum, and crossed the double-monotelosomic (dMt) F1's to normal durum, and cytologically examined the hybrid progeny. Of the seven A-genome dMt F1's, six (except dMt 4A) had two type of plants with 13''+t1t''' or 11''+1IV+t1t'''. Of the eight 6A dMt F1's, five had 13''+t1t''', two had 11''+(1''')tIV+t', and one had 11'' +t(1''')tV, while the progeny of dMt 2A included one plant with 12''+2t1'', indicating that (vent) durum had a 2A.6A translocation. Seven B-genome F1's had only 13''+t1t''' and produced disomics and dMts from crosses to normal durum, while one (dMt2B) produced only disomics, and one plant with a spontaneous maternal telosome that remained unpaired with the paternal chromosome 2B (2n=28; 13''+1'+t'). In summary, the (vent) durum has (a) two, T2A.6A and T2B.2S, translocation chromosomes, (b) scsspt is located in Ae. speltoides-derived 2S that is homoeologous to 2BS of durum, and (c) recombinants with scsspt and durum chromosome 2B were not obtained.

Key words: scsspt vs. Gc genes, T2A. 6A and T2BL. 2S translocation chromosomes.

Introduction

The cytoplasms from several species of Aegilops, including Ae. longissima, Ae. uniaristata, and Ae. ventricosa [(lo), (un) and (vent) cytoplasms, respectively] are fully compatible with the nuclear genome of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (Maan 1975, 1978). The resulting common wheat lines were fertile and used as the sources of alien cytoplasms to produce alloplasmic durum wheat (T. turgidum L.) lines, because cytoplasmic genes have exclusive maternal inheritance in the Triticeae species. The (lo), (un) or (vent) durum lines, thus produced. were male sterile and retained a long-arm telocentic of chromosome 1D (telo 1DL) from common wheat. Telo 1DL has a species cytoplasm specific (scsae) gene that improves compatibility between these cytoplasms and nuclear genome of durum wheat (Tsuji and Maan 1981; Maan and Endo 1981, 1991). The resulting 29-chromosome male-sterile lines when crossed to normal durum produce plump and viable seeds having embryos with 1DL yielding 29-chromosome male-sterile progeny, while the fertilization of 14-chromosome female gametes without 1DL (scsae) by 14-chromosome male. gametes of normal durum produce shriveled and inviable seeds. Telo 1DL remained unpaired during meiosis in 29-chromosome plants, and therefore, scsae in 1DL was not transferred to a durum chromosome. Male-sterile lines with a T1AL.1DL (Maan et al. 1999) or T1BS.1DL translocation chromosome carrying scsae have been obtained (Maan unpub).

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