Evaluation and Validation of Four Molecular Markers Associated with Pre-Harvest Sprouting Tolerance in Chinese Wheats

Abstract

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) reduces the quality and economic value of the grain. Increasing PHS tolerance is one of the most important objectives in wheat breeding. In this study, three PHS tolerance- associated markers MST101, wmc104, and Xgwm155, as well as Vp1B3, which was developed in our previous study, were employed to evaluate 95 Chinese landraces and historical varieties, aimed at assessing the efficiency of these markers in selecting genotypes with higher PHS tolerance. Among the 95 genotypes tested, 57, 19, and 19 accessions had germination indexes (GI) less than 30%, 30%–60%, and over 60%, respectively. The relationships between the variation of the PCR products of the four markers and the germination indexes of the tested accessions were analyzed. Variations at Vp1B3 and Xgwm155 were associated with PHS resis- tance, but not the STS marker MST101 and STMS marker wmc104. Whereas Vp1B3 was more effective than Xgwm155 for se- lecting PHS resistant varieties, the selection efficiency would be greatly improved by use of both markers.