The Environmental Adaptation of Wheat

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2023) | Viewed by 6810

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: identification and mechanism of genes related to important agronomic traits and root development in wheat; the discovery and mechanism of heat tolerance genes in wheat; molecular design breeding for stress resistance in wheat

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the most widely cultivated crop, contributes about one-fifth of the total calories for humans. Then, the growth, yield, and quality of wheat are adversely affected by all kinds of environmental stresses. Understanding the environmental stress responses and adaptations is important to improve wheat’s environmental stress-resistance. Corresponding genetic basis of wheat environmental adaptation would provide plausible options to enhance the stress resistance for futural wheat cultivars, to guarantee the wheat products’ sustainable supply. In the context of this Special Issue, the loci, genes, and elite alleles of wheat environmental adaptation are particularly focused for further mechanism study and wheat breeding practices.

In this Special Issue, we aim to exchange knowledge on any aspect related to genetic and physiological wheat adaptation to environmental changes, to maintain wheat production in all kinds of adverse environments.

Prof. Dr. Shengbao Xu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • wheat
  • environmental adaptation
  • genetic
  • physiological

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1177 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Seed Vigor-Related Traits in Wheat
by Qinxuan Wu, Bingxin Shi, Yao Lai, Yuanyuan Zhang, Yu Wu, Zhi Li, Yang Li, Xiaofei Zhu, Zhien Pu and Zihui Liu
Agronomy 2024, 14(3), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030410 - 20 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1498
Abstract
Seed vigor is a crucial indicator comprehensively assessing the quality of seeds, reflecting the growth advantage and production potential of seeds, and has a significant effect on seeds’ stress resistance. Identifying and controlling loci related to wheat seed vigor is essential for accelerating [...] Read more.
Seed vigor is a crucial indicator comprehensively assessing the quality of seeds, reflecting the growth advantage and production potential of seeds, and has a significant effect on seeds’ stress resistance. Identifying and controlling loci related to wheat seed vigor is essential for accelerating genetic trait gains. Here, we performed a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify several significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with seed vigor-related traits. A total of 404 wheat samples with diverse genetic backgrounds were used as experimental materials. Twenty-eight loci significantly associated with seed vigor-related traits in wheat were identified, distributed on chromosomes 3A, 4A, 5B, 7A, and 7B. Two potential novel loci controlling wheat seed vigor were discovered, with a total of 80 candidate genes associated with seed vigor located on these loci. Among them, TraesCS4A01G020000.1 encodes a late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein gene, and TraesCS5B01G298500.1 encodes a helicase gene, both showing specific expression in seeds and highly correlated with seed vigor. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights for the future application of these genes in wheat breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Environmental Adaptation of Wheat)
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13 pages, 2217 KiB  
Article
Impact of Drought Stress on Yield-Related Agronomic Traits of Different Genotypes in Spring Wheat
by Zihan Xu, Xiangjun Lai, Yi Ren, Hongmei Yang, Haobo Wang, Chunsheng Wang, Jianqiang Xia, Zhenlong Wang, Zhenyu Yang, Hongwei Geng, Xue Shi and Yueqiang Zhang
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 2968; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122968 - 30 Nov 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1894
Abstract
Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stresses to wheat worldwide, with negative effects on wheat growth and yield. Assessing genetic variation and drought stress tolerance of key agronomic and physiological traits of spring wheat and screening germplasm resources for higher drought [...] Read more.
Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stresses to wheat worldwide, with negative effects on wheat growth and yield. Assessing genetic variation and drought stress tolerance of key agronomic and physiological traits of spring wheat and screening germplasm resources for higher drought tolerance and yield stability are a prerequisite for developing new, better-adapted spring wheat varieties. This study evaluated nine important agronomic and physiological traits in 152 spring wheat cultivars under non-stress (NS) and drought-stress (DS) conditions. Under DS conditions, grain yield per plot (GYP) and grain weight per spike (GWE) were significantly reduced by 33.8% and 31.7%, and their drought-tolerance indexes (DIs) were only 0.66 and 0.69, respectively, indicating that GYP and GWE are the most susceptible traits to drought stress. The SPAD value of flag leave at flowering stage decreased by 13.9% under DS conditions, and the DI of SPAD was 0.86. In addition, DI-SPAD was significantly positively correlated with DIs of plant height (PH), grain number per spikelet (GPS), grain number per spike (GNS), GWE and GYP, indicating that the drought tolerance and yield of wheat are closely related to chlorophyll retention. Six wheat germplasm accessions were identified for their ability to sustain grain yield and improve drought tolerance simultaneously. These results provide insights into the genetic co-variation between grain yield and drought stress tolerance and provide a theoretical basis for the development of new wheat cultivars with excellent drought tolerance and high yields in the presence and absence of drought. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Environmental Adaptation of Wheat)
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15 pages, 5168 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Study for Spike Traits and Distribution of Two QTLs for Grain Number in Chinese Wheat Cultivars
by Junzhe Wang, Yijin Chen, Xiangjun Lai, Zihui Liu, Manshuang Liu and Shengbao Xu
Agronomy 2023, 13(10), 2538; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13102538 - 30 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1114
Abstract
Spike traits play an important role in improving wheat yield. However, the application of reported spike-related loci remains unclear. Here, we assessed six spike-related traits across seven different environments using 406 wheat accessions. A negative correlation was observed between two components of wheat [...] Read more.
Spike traits play an important role in improving wheat yield. However, the application of reported spike-related loci remains unclear. Here, we assessed six spike-related traits across seven different environments using 406 wheat accessions. A negative correlation was observed between two components of wheat yield: thousand kernel weight (TKW) and grain number per spike (GN). Nonetheless, TKW and GN were significantly higher in modern cultivars compared to landraces. Two reliable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to GN, QGN.nwafu-4A and QGN.nwafu-7A, were identified through genome-wide associate analysis. QGN.nwafu-4A showed pleiotropy on GN, kernel number per spikelet and spike length. Both elite haplotypes of QGN.nwafu-7A were prominently present in Chinese modern cultivars, particularly those released after the year 2000. Elite haplotype A of QGN.nwafu-7A was significantly prevalent in Chinese Yellow and Huai wheat zone, while elite haplotype D of QGN.nwafu-7A was concentrated in other wheat-growing regions of China. This observation suggests distinct preferences in wheat cultivation across various agro-ecological regions. Conversely, elite haplotype A of QGN.nwafu-4A was more common in introduced cultivars from abroad. This divergence may be attributed to the reduced TKW of haplotype A. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the application of these two QTLs in high-yield wheat breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Environmental Adaptation of Wheat)
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17 pages, 2700 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen-Driven Genotypic Diversity of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes
by Sandeep Gawdiya, Dinesh Kumar, Yashbir Singh Shivay, Radheshyam, Somanath Nayak, Bulbul Ahmed, Babanpreet Kour, Sahadeva Singh, Rahul Sadhukhan, Sintu Malik, Ravi Saini, Anita Kumawat, Naveen Malik, Ahmed Z. Dewidar and Mohamed A. Mattar
Agronomy 2023, 13(10), 2447; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13102447 - 22 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1670
Abstract
Imbalanced use (form, quantity, and ratio) of nitrogen fertilization can result in decreased grain yields and increased nitrogen loss, leading to adverse effects on overall environmental quality. Globally, limited empirical research has been conducted on the comprehensive effects of different levels of N [...] Read more.
Imbalanced use (form, quantity, and ratio) of nitrogen fertilization can result in decreased grain yields and increased nitrogen loss, leading to adverse effects on overall environmental quality. Globally, limited empirical research has been conducted on the comprehensive effects of different levels of N that can significantly influence wheat agronomic and genotypic traits. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate wheat genotypes for two consecutive years (2020–2021 and 2021–2022) under different N fertilization treatments: N0 (native N, without external application of N), N75 (½ of the recommended dose of N), and N150 (recommended dose of N). The study findings revealed that ‘HD 3249’ and ‘HD 3117’ were the top-performing genotypes in terms of grain yield (5.3 t ha−1; 5.0 t ha−1), straw yield (6.9 t ha−1; 6.7 t ha−1), biological yield (12.2 t ha−1; 11.8 t ha−1), and harvest index (42.9%; 42.4%). In particular, the application of N75 and N150 increased grain yields by 142.6% and 61.3%, respectively; straw yields by 72.3%; and by 110.6% over N0. Furthermore, N levels (N75 and 150) significantly increased the higher concentration of N in grain (23.1% and 33%) and straw (21.1% and 29.8%); N uptake in grain (70.2 and 104.2) and straw (64.8 and 41.5); and total N uptake (68.8% and 101.4%) than N0, respectively. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed that there were positive correlations between yields, harvest index as well as N concentration and uptake. This study identified the two elite genotypes, ‘HD 3249’ and ‘HD 3117’, with N150 splits giving a better response, which can be used as selection criteria for developing wheat varieties that are more efficient in using nitrogen, leading to high yields and N uptake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Environmental Adaptation of Wheat)
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