The Use of the Genetic Resources of Tetraploid Wheat <i>Triticum aethiopicum</i> on the Developing of Purple-Grain Common Wheat with a High Content of Anthocyanins

Abstract

The article considers the results on the developing of purple-grain common wheat and the study of its genetic diversity. Triticum aethiopicum Jakubz. 2n = 28 is the only source of genes for the purple grains color among the wheat species. The trait of purple grain is accompanied by an increase in the content of anthocyanins and micronutrients in the grain. To develop common wheat lines with purple grain, T. aethiopicum k-19068 was first hybridized with the Iranian landrace T. aestivum k-14333. The resulting hybrids were then crossed with the highly productive common wheat cultivar Liza. The developing lines F6 (2n = 42) characterize low diversity on multiple alleles of gliading-coding loci (H = 0.410). They were dominated by alleles inherited from the parent variety Liza. No gliadin alleles that could belong to T. aethiopicum have been identified. Comparison of groups of lines with purple and white grains made it possible to show that they do not significantly differ from each other in terms of yield and elements of its structure. As a result, we have not found a negative correlation between the high content of anthocyanins in grain and grain productivity. This allows us to hope for the possibility of developing high-yielding lines of common wheat with purple grain enriched with anthocyanins.