There is little new information to report for wheat-barley genetic stocks since the last report. The wheat-barley addition lines (disomic and ditelosomic) produced at the Waite Institute have so far been supplied on request to well over 100 scientists in 26 different countries and they have been used extensively for mapping barley genes controlling over 60 biochemical markers and recently many molecular (RFLP and PCR) markers as well. The missing wheat-barley addition 5 (1H) could not be obtained as a self-fertile addition line because of the male sterility induced by the presence of barley lHL arm in the wheat background. However, this line is being maintained as a self-sterile double monosomic 1H,6H addition by repeated backcrossing to wheat and selecting for double monosomics in each generation. Thus for molecular mapping work involving barley chromosome arm 1HL, DNA from these self-sterile double monosomic plants or rare monosomic lH plants (self-sterile) selected in the progeny can be used.

At Adelaide, we are continuing efforts to produce further wheat-barley translocation lines for use in barley RFLP and physical mapping work. In a collaborative program with the JI Centre for Plant Science Research, Norwich, England, it has been possible to apply genomic in situ hybridization to identify the barley chromosome segment in some wheat-barley translocation lines. Provided a sufficient number of wheat-barley translocation lines involving each barley chromosome arm can be obtained it would be possible to construct a physical map of the barley genome.

References:

Islam, A.K.M.R., and K. W. Shepherd. 1992. Substituting ability of individual barley chromosomes for wheat chromosomes. 1. Substitutions involving barley chromosomes 1, 3, and 6. Plant Breeding 109:141-150.

Schwarzacher, T., K. Anamthawat-Jonsson, G. E. Harrison, A.K.M.R. Islam, J. Z. Jia, I. P. King, A. R. Leitch, T. E. Miller, S. M. Reader, W. J. Rogers, M. Shi, and J. S. HeslopHarrison. Genomic in situ hybridization to identify alien chromosomes and chromosome segments in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 84:778-786.

Shepherd, K. W., and A.K.M.R. Islam. 1992. Progress in the isolation of wheat-barley addition and recombination lines and their use in mapping the barley genome. pp. 99-114. In P. R. Shewry (ed.) Barley: Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. CAB International Press.