Characterisation of genetic variation for aluminium resistance and polyphenol oxidase activity in genebank accessions of spelt wheat

Abstract

Spelt wheat [Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta (L.) Thell.] is becoming a valuable crop due to its reputation as a healthy food. In Australia, this crop has not been targeted for systematic breeding. Identification of spelt genotypes having low PPO activity and resistance to acid soils (Al 3+ ) are desirable attributes for future cultivar development. We evaluated 51 genebank accessions of spelts from the Australian Winter Cereals Collection for polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and for resistance to aluminium (Al). PPO activity was measured both visually and spectrophotometrically, using L-DOPA substrate. PPO activity for genotypes ranged from 0.15 to 1.3 and could be grouped into 'low', 'medium' and 'high' categories. At least eight accessions exhibited low PPO activity (not different to the durum check cultivar Arrivato). After measuring PPO activity, the same kernels were further evaluated for Al resistance using a nutrient solution culture method with haematoxylin staining test of root tips. Thirty-three accessions were resistant to Al. Functional gene markers associated with loci conditioning Al resistance gene (TaALMT1) and PPO activity (XPPO-2A) in common wheat confirmed their association with target phenotypes within spelt accessions. Genetic variation within spelt wheat for important agronomic and quality traits such as Al resistance and PPO suggested that progress in spelt improvement can be made by molecular plant breeding. Diversity Array Technology (DArT) based allelic data revealed that these spelt accessions are genetically diverse.

Spelt as a Genetic Resource for Yield Component Improvement in Bread Wheat

“…In addition, genetic variation in bread‐making quality (An et al, 2005; Caballero et al, 2001, 2004), protein concentration (Gomez‐Becerra et al, 2010; Stallknecht et al, 1996), lipid content (Ruibal‐Mendieta et al, 2002) and mineral nutrient concentrations (e.g., Zn, Fe, and Se) (Gomez‐Becerra et al, 2010; Ruibal‐Mendieta et al, 2005; Zhao et al, 2009), has been reported. Spelt also shows resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses, such as aluminium (Raman et al, 2009), flooding (Burgos et al, 2001b), leaf rust (Dyck and Sykes, 1994; Mohler et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2010), yellow rust (Sun et al, 2002), leaf and glume blotch (Aguilar et al, 2005; Simon et al, 2010). Many genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with bread‐making quality and stress resistance have been identified from spelt (Aguilar et al, 2005; Burgos et al, 2001a; Guzman et al, 2012; Mohler et al, 2012; Zanetti et al, 2001).…”

In Vitro Anther Culture for Doubled Haploid Plant Production in Spelt Wheat

“…In the last decades, spelt wheat (Tritium spelta L.) has become an attractive species in research and breeding programmes of cereals because of many beneficial traits of its; high nutritional value, wide adaptability, abiotic stress tolerance, high tillering ability and biomass production [1][2][3][4][5]. In organic farming system, spelt is one of the most preferred species due to these attributes.…”

Utilization of in Vitro Anther Culture in Spelt Wheat Breeding

“…In the last two decades, due to some special advantageous agronomic traits, i.e., wide adaptability, tillering ability, abiotic stress tolerance, and high biomass, the growing area of spelt wheat increased year by year [1,2,3,4]. In the organic farming system, spelt wheat is an attractive species because of the above-mentioned traits.…”