Historic Role of the Wheat Variety Akakomugi in Southern and Central European Wheat Breeding Programs

Abstract

The old semidwarf, not very attractive, Japanese wheat variety Akakomugi was the source of the dwarfing gene Rht8 and photoperiodic insensitive gene PpD1 to many semidwarf wheat varieties in South and Central Europe in the 20th century. Integrating the Rht8 and PpD1 genes in wheat varieties offered the best opportunities for reducing plant height, accelerating time of flowering, improving grain fill before the onset of dry summer conditions, enhancing spikelet fertility, and consequently increasing yields. Many breeders from South and Central Europe and from the former Soviet Union were creating winter short high yielding wheat varieties without knowing at the time that Akakomugi was the donor of such important genes. At the end of the 20th century, it was discovered that dwarfing gene Rht8 and photoperiodic insensitive gene PpD1 are located on the short arm of chromosome 2D in wheat. Microsatellite analyses proved that Akakomugi is the source for the Rht8 and PpD1 genes in many short wheat varieties in South and Central Europe.