Skip to main content

Wheat Genetics

Research published in Nature opens door for advancements in MSU wheat genetics


As defined by Nature, genome refers to, “the complete set of genetic information in an organism.” Modern bread wheat has three genomes: the A genome, B genome and D genome. When the D genome hybridized with the A and B genomes roughly 8,000-11,000 years ago to create what is now modern bread wheat, the process subsequently restricted wheat’s genetic diversity.

By studying the genetic makeup of Tausch’s goatgrass and other wild wheat relatives, which are described in the paper as “genetic reservoirs,” breeders and geneticists can use the knowledge to improve modern bread wheat through the discovery and enhancement of genes — such as the one examined in this project Olson found during his doctoral research at Kansas State University.

“My colleagues and I cloned a disease resistance gene I identified during my work at Kansas State University,” Olson said. “As a Ph.D. student, I did the genetic mapping and transferred this gene to modern bread wheat, but it was through this work that we were able to differentiate the gene from others in the same chromosome region and get the actual sequence for this disease resistance gene.”

The project was led by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Results were published in Nature on Aug. 14, 2024.

The team analyzed and sequenced 493 different Tausch’s goatgrass accessions — genetic material representing specific genotypes collected in distinct geographies — which gave rise to 46 unique genome assemblies that were studied.

Olson said the information gathered from evaluating the genome assemblies will advance how the MSU Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program goes after traits of interest when developing new wheat varieties.

“This research will help us identify individual genes controlling qualitative traits, including specific resistance to disease or pests,” Olson said. “On top of that, however, these wild wheat relatives have traits that are important for climate resiliency, heat and drought tolerance and other characteristics critical for modern wheat production.

“Those specific traits weren’t evaluated in this paper, but this paper positions us to use these genomes to unlock those traits in modern bread wheat. Once we bring those genes into wheat, we can start evaluating the effects on qualities like grain yield and biomass production.”

wheat genetics, MSU, Nature, yield enhancement, disease resistance, CRISPR, climate adaptability, sustainable agriculture, food security, genome mapping, drought resistance, pest control, biofortification, precision agriculture, phenotyping, epigenetics, gene-editing, protein synthesis, crop rotation, biodiversity, soil health, hybrid breeding, root architecture, nitrogen efficiency, carbon sequestration.

#WheatGenetics #MSU #NatureResearch #SustainableAgriculture #FoodSecurity #CRISPR #PrecisionFarming #CropScience #DroughtResistance #GeneEditing #SoilHealth #Biodiversity #ClimateAdaptability #GenomeMapping #DiseaseResistance #HybridBreeding #PestControl #Biofortification #PathogenResistance #NitrogenEfficiency #CarbonSequestration #AgInnovation #PlantScience #GlobalNutrition #Phenotyping.

International Conference on Genetics and Genomics of Diseases 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fruitful innovation

Fruitful innovation: Transforming watermelon genetics with advanced base editors The development of new adenine base editors (ABE) and adenine-to-thymine/ guanine base editors (AKBE) is transforming watermelon genetic engineering. These innovative tools enable precise A:T-to-G and A:T-to-T base substitutions, allowing for targeted genetic modifications. The research highlights the efficiency of these editors in generating specific mutations, such as a flowerless phenotype in ClFT (Y84H) mutant plants. This advancement not only enhances the understanding of gene function but also significantly improves molecular breeding, paving the way for more efficient watermelon crop improvement. Traditional breeding methods for watermelon often face challenges in achieving desired genetic traits efficiently and accurately. While CRISPR/Cas9 has provided a powerful tool for genome editing, its precision and scope are sometimes limited. These limitations highlight the need for more advanced gene-e...

Genetic factors with clinical trial stoppage

Genetic factors associated with reasons for clinical trial stoppage Many drug discovery projects are started but few progress fully through clinical trials to approval. Previous work has shown that human genetics support for the therapeutic hypothesis increases the chance of trial progression. Here, we applied natural language processing to classify the free-text reasons for 28,561 clinical trials that stopped before their endpoints were met. We then evaluated these classes in light of the underlying evidence for the therapeutic hypothesis and target properties. We found that trials are more likely to stop because of a lack of efficacy in the absence of strong genetic evidence from human populations or genetically modified animal models. Furthermore, certain trials are more likely to stop for safety reasons if the drug target gene is highly constrained in human populations and if the gene is broadly expressed across tissues. These results support the growing use of human genetics to ...

Genetics study on COVID-19

Large genetic study on severe COVID-19 Bonn researchers confirm three other genes for increased risk in addition to the known TLR7 gene Whether or not a person becomes seriously ill with COVID-19 depends, among other things, on genetic factors. With this in mind, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in cooperation with other research teams from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, investigated a particularly large group of affected individuals. They confirmed the central and already known role of the TLR7 gene in severe courses of the disease in men, but were also able to find evidence for a contribution of the gene in women. In addition, they were able to show that genetic changes in three other genes of the innate immune system contribute to severe COVID-19. The results have now been published in the journal " Human Genetics and Genomics Advances ". Even though the number of severe cases following infection with the SARS-CoV-...