Genetics of End‐Use Quality Differences between a Modern and Historical Spring Wheat

• Published in: Crop science Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 1972 - 1980
• Main Authors: Sherman, Jamie D., Nash, Deanna, Lanning, Susan P., Martin, John M., Blake, Nancy K., Morris, Craig F., Talbert, Luther E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison The Crop Science Society of America, Inc 01.09.2014; American Society of Agronomy
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Cultivars; Gene mapping; Genetics; Genotype & phenotype; Gluten; Grain; Molecular weight; Proteins; Spring wheat; Studies
• ISSN: 0011-183X; 1435-0653
• DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2013.11.0749

ABSTRACT The goal of this project was to determine the genetic basis for quality differences between a modern semidwarf spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar McNeal and a historically important standard height cultivar Thatcher. McNeal is higher yielding with lower grain protein than Thatcher, yet has stronger gluten properties important in bread making. Grain from a total of 160 recombinant inbred lines including 80 semidwarf and 80 standard‐height lines grown in three environments was tested for bread‐making quality. A genetic map of 609 markers was used to identify bread‐making quality quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing flour protein, dough mixing, and baking properties. The McNeal allele for semidwarf habit at Rht‐D1 had the largest impact on end‐use quality parameters, including flour protein and loaf volume. The primarily negative impact of this allele on quality in McNeal was mitigated by alleles for increased dough strength at other QTL. The allele with the greatest effect on strength was at Gli‐B1. Other alleles for increased end‐use quality, especially alleles impacting flour protein, tended to be negatively associated with previously identified alleles for grain yield and its components. In sum, this paper shows that the introduction of the Rht alleles for semidwarf habit have presented a challenge to the maintenance of superior end‐use quality in modern hard red spring wheat cultivars.