No abstract

Breeding of arable crops such as wheat has led to substantial improvements in yield, quality of produce, traits of agronomic value and resistance to disease and abiotic stress. Resistance to many diseases and pests of wheat has improved through a combination of innovation by breeders, driven by competition, and independent assessment of cultivars in Recommended List trials. In addition to pleiotropic effects of resistance genes, two further limitations on breeding for disease resistance are linkage drag and competition drag. Linkage drag, the slow rate of decline of linkage disequilibrium between closely linked genes, can be especially significant in wheat, particularly after the introgression of chromosome segments from related wild grasses. For example it slowed the deployment of the Pch1 gene for resistance to eyespot in leading cultivars because Pch1 is on a chromosome segment that also reduces yield. Linkage drag also inhibited the use of Pm16 for resistance to powdery mildew. Competition drag can be described as the delay in the deployment of a useful gene because of the additional time needed to raise yield and quality to the standard of the current market‐leading cultivars. This is exemplified by the near‐absence of resistance to Soil‐borne cereal mosaic virus in most modern varieties, despite no evidence for detrimental pleiotropic effects. Changes in agricultural practice and regulation of pesticides are increasing demand for durable resistance to disease but wherever possible, improvement of resistance should not constrain selection for yield which remains the most significant trait in leading wheat cultivars for the UK.

Leaf function is influenced by leaf structure, which is itself related not only to the spatial arrangement of constituent mesophyll cells, but also their size and shape. In this study, we used confocal microscopy to image leaves of Triticum genotypes varying in ploidy level to extract 3D information on individual mesophyll cell size and geometry. Combined with X‐ray Computed Tomography and gas exchange analysis, the effect of changes in wheat mesophyll cell geometry upon leaf structure and function were investigated. Mesophyll cell size and shape were found to have changed during the course of wheat evolution. An unexpected linear relationship between mesophyll cell surface area and volume was discovered, suggesting anisotropic scaling of mesophyll cell geometry with increasing ploidy. Altered mesophyll cell size and shape were demonstrated to be associated with changes in mesophyll tissue architecture. Under experimental growth conditions, CO 2 assimilation did not vary with ploidy, but stomatal conductance was lower in hexaploid plants, conferring a greater instantaneous water‐use efficiency. We propose that as wheat mesophyll cells have become larger with increased ploidy, this has been accompanied by changes in cell geometry and packing which limit water loss while maintaining carbon assimilation.

DNA isolated from the/orwae speciales of Erysiphe graminis that grow on barley, wheat, rye and oats was studied using restriction endonucleases and DNA/DNA hybridization procedures. DNA fragments were purified by molecular cloning and a few containing repeated sequences were used to demonstrate the many variations in restriction fragments both within and between the (omformae speciales. In an analysis of six single-colony isolates of the barley mildew pathogen collected from different UK sites in different years, more than a quarter ofthe fragments scored varied among isolates. One isolate, with an uncommon pathogenicity character, differed from the remainder in the distribution of DNA bands. Isolates of rye mildew were also distinct from one another but isolates of oat mildew from a population of similar size appeared to belong to a single clone.It is concluded that the chromosomes of E. graminis contain many families of dispersed repeated sequences and that there may be extensive polymorphism for restriction endonuclease cleavage sites associated with these repeats. Such unselected polymorphisms could be useful in helping to understand and discriminate among the factors affecting population structure in the pathogen as it responds to different agricultural practices.

In 1998 and 1999 the UK winter wheat variety Rialto produced unexpected low Hagberg falling numbers that could not be directly linked to sprouting. It was proposed that these reductions in quality could be due to pre-maturity α-amylase activity (PMAA). The problem was not identified during the selection and commercial development stages. Our study tested the hypothesis that the variety Rialto is PMAA-susceptible. Analysis was done on 13 year-location combinations of field grown Rialto. Together, visual and chemical assessments of sprouting and iso-electric focusing of α-amylase isozymes identified several samples with significant α-amylase activity in the apparent absence of sprouting. In addition, tests with α-amylase sensitive Phadebas gel revealed distinctive PMAA discoloration patterns in 10-44% of the grain from the 13 samples, leading to the conclusion that Rialto is PMAA-susceptible. Diurnal temperature range accumulated for an 11 day period during a warm spell in early simulated grain development displayed a significant but negative correlation with the number of grains showing clear PMAA discoloration patterns on Phadebas gel. The number of clear PMAA grains correlated positively with rainfall accumulated over 11 days. These results suggest that PMAA can increase under conditions similar to those conducive to pre-harvest sprouting. It is however also possible that in some instances both PMAA and incipient sprouting could have produced similar patterns of α-amylase activity. In addition to tests with Rialto, Phadebas gel tests were therefore also done with the known high Hagberg varieties Option and Malacca, sprouted in a controlled environment. Results from the additional gel tests suggest that visual and chemical assessments of sprouting in the grain combined with Phadebas gel analysis could identify PMAA more reliably in grain sub-samples than Phadebas gel analysis alone.