Variability ofRc(red coleoptile) alleles in wheat and wheat-alien genetic stock collections

Abstract

Anthocyanin accumulation in vegetative organs has a relationship to stress resistance in plants. In wheat, ability to accumulate anthocyanins in the coleoptile is inherited and controlled by the Rc (red coleoptile) genes. The aim of the current study was to find potential sources of ‘strong’ Rc alleles conferring very high levels of anthocyanin production and to study the effect of genetic background on Rc expression. We measured the relative anthocyanin content (OD530) in the coleoptile of different wheat and wheat-alien genetic stocks and accessions to find potential sources of ‘strong’ Rc alleles conferring very high levels of anthocyanin production. The OD530 values varied from 0.514 to 3.311 in genotypes having red coleoptiles. The highest anthocyanin content was detected in coleoptiles of four Triticum dicoccoides accessions originating from Israel and the Russian T. aestivum cultivar ‘Novosibirskaya 67’, suggesting that their Rc alleles can be used to increase anthocyanin content in the coleoptile of wheat cultivars. It is also suggested that rye Rc alleles, such as that of Russian cultivar ‘Selenga’, can be used to increase anthocyanin content in triticale seedlings.