Abstract
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple crop in East Africa (EA) providing 9% and 10% of daily calories and protein intake, respectively. However, EA countries depend on import to meet 55% of their domestic wheat supplies due to increasing demands and low domestic yields. To determine the beneficial gene pool currently exploited for wheat improvement in EA, we examined the allelic diversity of 39 genes of breeding importance in a collection of 239 wheat cultivars and breeding lines from Kenya and Ethiopia using KASP markers. The assayed genes have been shown to control variations in plant height, thousand kernel weight (TKW), grain protein content, pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), disease resistance, and flowering time. We observed the beneficial alleles of some major genes including Gpc-B1, Yr5, Yr15, Sr26, and Fhb1 to be missing or present at low frequencies in this population. Furthermore, we validated the effects of the major Rht-1 alleles and TaCKX-D1 in controlling variation in plant height and thousand kernel weight, respectively, under EA conditions. Our results uncover hitherto unexploited allelic diversity that can be used to improve the genetic potential of EA wheat germplasm. This will inform strategies to rapidly mobilize these beneficial alleles for wheat improvement in EA.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the major cereals and staple crops in East Africa (EA)
John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK e-mail: o.shorinola@cgiar.org pool currently exploited for wheat improvement in EA, we examined the allelic diversity of 39 genes of breeding importance in a collection of 239 wheat cultivars and breeding lines from Kenya and Ethiopia using Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers
Wheat has transitioned from a “colonial” crop confined to mission shambas to a food security crop accounting for 9% and 10% of daily calorie and protein intake in EA, respectively (FAOSTAT 2020)
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the major cereals and staple crops in East Africa (EA). East Africa produces an average of 5 M tonnes of wheat per year from approx. Up to 80% of wheat farmers in EA are small holder farmers, further underlying the importance of wheat production to household food security and livelihoods. Kenya and Ethiopia account for 92% of the wheat produced in EA; the average yield of wheat in both countries is low (~ 2 t/ha in 2017; FAOSTAT 2020). To meet the increasing demand for wheat, EA countries import 55% of their domestic wheat supplies. This heavy dependence on imports makes the region highly vulnerable to changes in global wheat supply market
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