Hybrid wheat development.

M. Perenzin and B. Borghi.

Hybrid production. During 1993-94, 100 new hybrid combinations were produced in a 20 x 5 top cross utilizing CHA technology. Seed set and seed production were rather good; the best lines produced more than 2.5 t ha-1 of hybrid seed. Twenty-five Italian varieties were evaluated as possible females to produce durum wheat hybrids. Good results were obtained in many crosses, and in 1995, 32 new hybrids will be produced in an 8 x 4 top cross.

Hybrids evaluation. As in the previous years, in 1993-94 a total of 64 bread wheat hybrids together with their parental varieties were evaluated for agronomic traits in replicated plots. A trend in the yield potential of the hybrids, produced and evaluated in the last 10 years, is presented in the Table below. Moreover, about 300 bread wheat hybrids were evaluated together with their parental varieties for agronomic traits in two-row unreplicated plots 1.2 m long.

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% with St. heterosis

Grain yield Hybrid _________________

Year Check cultivars (t ha-1) origin No. >5% >10%

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1985 Chiarano Pandas 7.78 Top crosses 141 15 0

(2 loc.) Gemini (random cultivars)

1992 Chiarano Centauro 5.89 Top crosses 120 50 19

(1 loc.) Eridano (selected cultivars)

1992-93 Golia Pegaso 7.13 Diallel 21 71 5

(3 loc.) Eridano (7 cultivars selected for gca)

1994 Pandas Zena 5.22 Top crosses 64 28 13

(1 loc.) Bolero (selected cultivars)

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Allelic variability at Glu-3 in Italian bread wheat cultivars.

R. Redaelli, P. Vaccino, E.V. Metakovsky, and N.E. Pogna.

Low molecular weight-glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) have been shown to be important in determining the viscoelastic properties of doughs. They are encoded at the Glu-3 loci, on the short arm of chromosomes 1A, 1B, and 1D. In the past few years, several extraction and electrophoresis procedures have been developed in order to describe their allelic variability.

LMW-GS, extracted from a group of 70 bread wheat cultivars grown in Italy, were fractionated by A-PAGE and SDS-PAGE. Four alleles were recognized at Glu-A3, six alleles at Glu-B3, and four alleles at Glu-D3. A tight correspondence was found between the Gli-1 and Glu-3 alleles, confirming the linkage of the two loci.

The same set of cultivars is being analysed at the DNA level with the RFLP technique, using a probe specific for LMW glutenins. The aim of the work is to reveal LMW glutenin alleles in definite RFLP patterns. It would also be very interesting to compare the information derived from the protein and the DNA levels for a better understanding of the organization of these complex loci.

Publications.

Accerbi M and Redaelli R. 1994. Induction of heat shock proteins in endosperm and embryo of wheat seeds. (Submitted)

Borghi B. 1994. Identification and characterization of winter cereal cultivars tolerant to the stress conditions of the Mediterranean climate. In: Bilan hydrique agricole et secheresse en Afrique Tropicale (Reyniers and Netoyo eds). John Libbey Eurotext, Paris. Pp. 161-166.

Borghi B, Balzarotti R, and Corbellini M. 1994. Response to selection for grain yield and harvest index applied to bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) in different generations from F2 to F6. (Submitted).

Borghi B, Castagna R, Corbellini M, Heun M, and Salamini F. 1994. Einkorn diploid wheats (T. monococcum ssp. monococcum) suitable for bread-making. (Submitted).

Borghi B, Corbellini M, Ciaffi M, Lafiandra D, De Stefanis E, Sgrulletta D, Boggini G, and Di Fonzo N. 1994. Effects of heat shock during grain filling on grain quality of bread and durum wheats. (Submitted).

Borghi B, Corbellini M, Minoia C, Boggini G, Di Fonzo N, and Perenzin M. 1994. Effects of Mediterranean climate on wheat bread making quality. In: Proc Third Cong European Soc of Agronomy (Borin M and Sattin M eds). Pp 584-585.

Borghi B, Giordani G, Corbellini M, Vaccino P, Guermandi M, and Toderi G. 1994. Influence of crop rotation, manure and fertilizers on bread making quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). European J Agron (In press).

Borghi B and Perenzin M. 1994. Diallel analysis to predict heterosis and combining ability for grain yield, yield components and bread making quality in bread wheat (T. aestivum). Theor Appl Genet 89:975-981.

Canevara MG, Romani M, Corbellini M, Perenzin M, and Borghi B. 1994. Evolutionary trend of morphological, physiological, agronomical, and qualitative traits in Triticum aestivum L. cultivars bred in Italy since 1900. European J Agron 3(3):175-185.

Castagna R, Borghi B, Di Fonzo N, Heun M, and Salamini F. 1994. Einkorn (T. monococcum ssp. monococcum) productivity and yield related traits in contrasting agronomic environments. European J Agron (Accepted).

Castagna R, Maga G, Perenzin M, Heun M, and Salamini F. 1994. RFLP based genetic relationships of einkorn wheat. Theor Appl Genet 88:818-823.

Ciaffi M, Tozzi L, Cannarella E, Corbellini M, Borghi B, and Lafiandra D. 1994. Effect of heat stress on gluten proteins and dough technological properties. Proc Wheat Kernel Proteins Meeting, S. Martino al Cimino, Viterbo, Italy (In press).

Corbellini M and Canevara MG. 1994. Estimate of moisture and protein content in whole grains of bread wheat T. aestivum by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Italian J Food Sci 1:95-102.

Gavuzzi P, Rizza F, Palumbo M, Campanile RG, Ricciardi GL, and Borghi B. 1994. Screening for drought and heat tolerance in winter cereals (T. aestivum L., T. turgidum L., and H. vulgare L.) by means of field and laboratory tests. (Submitted).

Metakovsky EV, Pogna NE, Biancardi AM, and Redaelli R. 1994. Gliadin allele composition of common wheat cultivars grown in Italy. J Genet Breed 48:55-66.

Pogna NE, Redaelli R, Vaccino P, Biancardi AM, Dal Belin Peruffo A, Curioni A, and Metakovsky EV. 1994. Production and genetic characterization of near-isogenic-lines in the bread wheat cultivar Alpe. Theor Appl Genet (In press).

Redaelli R, Morel MH, Autran J-C, and Pogna NE. 1994. Genetic analysis of low Mr glutenin subunits fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (A-PAGE x SDS-PAGE). J Cereal Sci (In press).

Redaelli R, Metakovsky EV, Davidov SD, and Pogna NE. 1994. Two-dimensional mapping of gliadins using biotypes and null mutants of common wheat cultivar Saratovskaya. Hereditas (In press).

Redaelli R, Morel MH, Autran J-C, and Pogna NE. 1994. Two dimensional (A-PAGE x SDS-PAGE) electrophoresis of Glu-A3 alleles in some cultivars carrying different Gli-A1 alleles. Proc Wheat Kernel Proteins Meeting, S.Martino al Cimino, Viterbo, Italy. (In press).

Saponaro C, Pogna NE, Castagna R, Pasquini M, Cacciatori P, and Redaelli R. 1994. Allelic variation at the Gli-A1, Gli-A2 and Glu-A1 loci and gluten quality in diploid wheat Triticum monococcum. Genetical Res (Accepted).

Upelniek VP, Novoselskaya AYu, Sutka J, Galiba G, and Metakovsky EV. 1994. Genetic variation at storage protein-coding loci of common wheat (cv "Chinese Spring") induced by nitrosoethylurea and by the cultivation of immature embryos in vitro. Theor Appl Genet (In press).

Vaccino P and Metakovsky EV. 1994. RFLP patterns of gliadin alleles in Triticum aestivum L. implications for analysis of the organization and evolution in complex loci. Theor Appl Genet (In press).


ITEMS FROM JAPAN

Gifu University

Faculty of Agriculture, Gifu 501-11, Japan.

N. Watanabe and K. Matsui.

Diversity of Aegilops cylindrica collected in North America.

Aegilops cylindrica Host. (jointed goatgrass) is one of the most troublesome annual grass weeds in the winter wheat growing areas of the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and the Southern Plains in the USA. This grassy weed is believed to have been introduced into North America as a contaminant in winter wheat seed from Eurasia. Changing wheat production practices during the past quarter century have encouraged its spread. We sampled 74 accessions from 12 states in the U.S. and analysed FONT SIZE=2 FACE="WP Greek Century""-amylase isozymes of the accessions. However, we did not find any diversity of the FONT SIZE=2 FACE="WP Greek Century""-amylase isozymes among them. We are now focusing on seed germinability and the vernalization requirements of the accessions.

Publications.

Journal articles.

Miura H, Tanii S, Nakamura T, and Watanabe N. 1994. Genetic control of amylose content in wheat endosperm starch and differential effects on three Wx genes. Theor Appl Genet 89:276-280.

Watanabe N. 1993. Photosynthetic variation in mesophyll protoplasts and seedling leaves in Lolium species. Photosynthetica 29:151-155.

Watanabe N, Fujii C, Shirota M, and Furuta Y. 1993. Changes in chlorophyll, thylakoid proteins and photosynthetic adaptation to sun and shade environments in diploid and tetraploid Oryza punctata Kotschy and diploid Oryza eichingeri Peter. Plant Physiol Biochem 31:469-474.

Watanabe N, Ogawa A, and Furuta Y. 1993. Diversity of chlorophyll a:b ratio in durum wheat accessions and its association with photosynthetic rate. J Genet Breed 47:205-210.

Watanabe N. 1994. Near-isogenic lines of durum wheat: their development and plant characteristics. Euphytica 72:143-147.

Watanabe N and Usami S. 1994. Dry matter allocation of grain sorghums with different cytoplasms. Cereal Res Comm 22:253-256.

Watanabe N, Ogawa A, Kitaya T, and Furuta Y. 1994. Effects of substituted D genome chromosomes on photosynthetic rate of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum). Euphytica 72:127-131.

Watanabe N, Evans JR, and Chow WS. 1994. Changes in the photosynthetic properties of Australian wheat cultivars over the last century. Aust J Plant Phys 21:169-183.

Watanabe N, Naruse J, Austin RB, and Morgan CL. Variation in thylakoid proteins and photosynthesis in Syrian landraces of barley. (Submitted to Euphytica).

Conference articles.

Watanabe N, Nishimira I, Yasue T, and Furuta Y. 1994. Diversity of chlorophyll a/b ratio in durum wheat accessions: Combining ability and response to selection. Proc 7th Assembly of Wheat Breed Soc Australia. Pp. 297-300.

Watanabe N, Matsui K, and Furuta Y. 1995. Uniformity of alpha-amylase isozymes of Aegilops cylindrica introduced into North America: Comparison with ancestral Eurasian accessions. Proc 2nd Inter Triticeae Symp (In press).


National Agriculture Research Center

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305, Japan.

H. Nakamura.

Rapid evaluation for wheat protein content by using an organic elementary analyzer.

One of the most important objectives in the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs in Japan is to improve the quality in cultivars. Rapid and simple methods for quality evaluation should be established for the efficient selection of lines with good quality in the early generations. Protein content is one of the factors that significantly affects the quality of wheat. Rapid evaluation for wheat protein content using an organic elementary analyzer was studied. In this experiment, the protein contents of 538 Chinese wheat cultivars and lines were evaluated. The results were compatible in reproducibility to the conventional Kjeldahl method, but the former was more sensitive, easier, and more rapid than the latter. A high variation (6.62 %-18.92 %) occurred in the protein content among the 538 cultivars and lines. This suggests that these cultivars and lines could be used as stock in breeding for improved protein quality of Japanese wheat cultivars.

Publication.

Nakamura H. 1994. Rapid evaluation for wheat protein contents by using organic elementary analyzer. Japan J Breed 44 (Suppl. 2):243.