Abstract
Positive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)—wheat plant symbiosis have been well discussed by research, while the actual role of the single wheat genotype in establishing this type of association is still poorly investigated. In this work, the genetic diversity of Triticum turgidum wheats was exploited to detect roots susceptibility to AMF and to identify genetic markers in linkage with chromosome regions involved in this symbiosis. A tetraploid wheat collection of 127 accessions was genotyped using 35K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and inoculated with the AMF species Funneliformis mosseae (F. mosseae) and Rhizoglomus irregulare (R. irregulare), and a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was conducted. Six clusters of genetically related accessions were identified, showing a different mycorrhizal colonization among them. GWAS revealed four significant quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) involved in mycorrhizal symbiosis, located on chromosomes 1A, 2A, 2B and 6A. The results of this work enrich future breeding activities aimed at developing new grains on the basis of genetic diversity on low or high susceptibility to mycorrhization, and, possibly, maximizing the symbiotic effects.
Highlights
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum [Desf.] Husn.) is one of the most ancient domesticated grain crops[1] and the only tetraploid wheat subspecies of economic importance
discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) analysis based on the 21,051 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) provided a global picture of genetic relationship and population structure, confirmed by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis, of the 127 accessions of different subspecies of tetraploid wheats which grouped in 6 clusters
These clusters only partially matched with the morphological taxonomy of the selected varieties and landraces used in this work, highlighting the occurrence of high genetic variability between accessions belonging to the same subspecies
Summary
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum [Desf.] Husn.) is one of the most ancient domesticated grain crops[1] and the only tetraploid wheat subspecies of economic importance. During the Green Revolution, breeders imposed a strong selection on durum cultivars based on commercial purposes: local landraces were almost completely replaced by improved semi-dwarf cultivars which showed common characteristics like reduced height and leaf area, limited sprouting and shorter crop c ycle[3]. Such an effort, aimed at improving wheat yield and grain quality, may have resulted in a loss of genetic variability between a ccessions[4], and decreased resistance to stress[5]. While there is argument as to whether breeding for enhancing plant mycorrhizal interactions[16,17,18], both mycorrhizal colonization and growth may widely vary among plant accessions, and these traits are considered under genetic c ontrol[19,20,21], a strong environmental effect and a low heritability have been o bserved[22,23]
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