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PREFACE
It is with much gratitude to Professor Y. Yamazaki and her colleagues at the National Institute of Genetics. Mishima, Japan, that this issue of the Catalogue of Gene Symbols for Wheat was prepared from a database. Despite discussions of a database on numerous occasions, it has taken 35 years from my appointment as Coordinator of the Catalogue at the Third IWGS in Canberra in 1968. At that time the main reference to gene symbols in wheat ({047}, Ausemus et al. 1946) was 17 pages in length. The catalogue is now a large volume listing more than 11,500 genes/markers and 2,100. Clearly, that number will continue to increase quite rapidly.

With a functioning database it will be possible to update on a regular basis, probably annually. A likely model is that annual supplements will be generated and published on a similar basis to the recent past so that people can see what is new. These updates will then be added to the database. Currently we do not have a mechanism for updating reference numbers so separate chronological and alphabetical lists will be available. It is expected that the database and Word output files will be available from a number of websites, and possibly by CD on request.

The objective of this Catalogue is to have a document that is helpful to a wide range of people, from 'coal-face' researchers to extension workers, and even farmers. Different sections of the Catalogue were prepared in different ways and a major challenge for our Japanese colleagues was to develop a common system. Various modifications were made to achieve this. In addition, we are attempting to expand the DNA section to include genetic mapping information and, in future, bin groupings. This has necessitated separate chromosome listings in the database. Genes on a particular chromosome can be displayed in alphabetical order or, when mapped, in linkage order. The consensus maps were generated by Professor R. Appels and colleagues, but while the genes on the maps are listed, they are still to be crated fully into the database. While we have to adapt to the increasing universality of genetics across species, we must not lose track of our agricultural background and the fact that our organism is wheat. Farmers grow wheat!

The curator panel for the Catalogue continues to expand. It is only appropriate that Yukiko Yamazaki be recognized for her role in this project, following an initial discussion with a group of Japanese scientists in Tokyo in 2000. Since the 9 IWGS, Gary Hart and Mike Gale have retired and Jorge Dubcovsky was co-opted. Rudi Appels will be helping to incorporate mapping information. With the increasing cloning, sequencing and transformation, Olin Anderson will join the team to assist in those areas. Despite her recent move to the USA, Katrien Devos will continue her significant role in preparation of the annual supplements. Some recent revisions in the protein section were conducted by Craig Morris. From time to time I seek help and advice from various colleagues in revising particular sections of the Catalogue and I express my gratitude to all those named as well as unnamed. Over the past years I have been assisted by a number of people with aspects of the Catalogue, Supplements and records, and I especially recognize assistance from Catherine Cupitt and Fran Siemon. Until my retirement in 2000 my position and research within the University of Sydney was supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation. I thank the University and the Director of the Plant Breeding Institute, Professor Peter Sharp, for allowing me to continue to work in an honorary capacity.

I record our thanks to the editorial committees and editors of Wheat Information Service and Annual Wheat Newsletter for publishing annual supplements and the managers of Grain Genes for displaying the Catalogue and Supplements on their website.

My usual request for advice on the catalogue (your catalogue!) is more imperative than ever before. Please advise us of omissions, errors, typos so we can fix them and your suggestions on better ways to provide and display wheat genetics information are always welcome.

The Japanese Connection: In 1996 Dr. Yamazaki joined the 'Wheat network of Japan' whose objective was to construct a wheat resource database for Japanese scientists. The 1998 catalogue was seen as a basis for that resource. Whereas it was recognized that a database of the 1998 catalogue would be relatively easy to produce, it was quickly realized that maintenance would be very difficult. The most recent of many versions of MacGene now includes an ever expanding range of tools that permit user-friendly revisions and additions of new information. The MacGene project team included: T. Yamakawa, K. Watanabe, E. Koi, Y. Abe, S. Yano and Y. Yamazaki.

R.A. McIntosh

July, 2003

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