Post-anthesis photoassimilation is very important for wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） grain filling. The aim of the present study was to map quantitative trait loci （QTL） for post-anthesis dry matter accumulation （DMA）. A set of 120 doubled haploid （DH） lines, derived from winter wheat varieties Hanxuan 10 and Lumai 14, was grown under field conditions in two consecutive growing seasons during 2002-2004 in Beijing. Post-anthesis DMA per culm and related traits, including flag leaf greenness （FLG） and flag leaf weight （FLW; dry weight per flag leaf） at flowering, and grain weight per ear （GWE） were investigated. All traits segregated continuously in the DH population in both trials. The DMA was significantly and positively correlated with GWE, with the correlation coefficients being 0.79 and 0.66 in the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 growing seasons （both P〈0.01）, suggesting the importance of DMA in grain filling. Further correlation analysis showed that FLW was more closely correlated with DMA and GWE than FLG in both growing seasons, indicating that FLW was more important than FLG in influencing DMA and GWE. In total, 30 QTLs for these four traits were mapped and distributed on 10 chromosomes. Phenotypic variations explained by an individual QTL were in the range 5.8%-21.3%, 5.9%-17.2%, 5.1%-18.1%, and 5.6%-16.2% for FLG, FLW, DMA, and GWE, respectively. Eight QTLs for DMA were detected, of which four （on chromosome arms 2AS, 4BL, 5AS, and 7AS） were linked with QTLs for GWE; two （on chromosome arms 5BL and 7BL） coincided with QTLs for FLW. These results may provide useful information for developing marker-assisted selection for the improvement of DMA.
Jun-Ying SuYi-Ping TongQuan-You LiuBin LiRui-Lian JingJi-Yun LiZhen-Sheng Li
Morphological traits, anatomical features, chemical components and bending stress in the stems of three genotypes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), namely Xiaoyan54, 8602 and Xiaoyan81, were ex- amined by means of light microscopy coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). No- ticeable changes in morphological and anatomical traits were observed, including outer radius of stem, the ratio of stem outer radius to stem wall thickness, various tissue proportions and variations among dif- ferent types of vascular bundles. The results of chemical analysis revealed that Xiaoyan81 had the highest cellulose content in comparison with Xiao- yan54 and 8602, whereas lignin level in Xiaoyan81 was lower than that in 8602 but higher that that in Xiaoyan54. Bending stress analysis demonstrated that Xiaoyan81 may be the main target for identifica- tion, for it had the highest bending stress among the stems of three genotypes. Associated with bending stress, all the results presented here suggested that the ratio of stem wall thickness to its outer radius, schlerenchyma tissue proportion, the average num- ber of big VB per unit and the cellulose content are four important factors affecting the mechanical strength of Xiaoyan81 wheat stems, which can be considered as the key parameters for selecting varie- ties with bending stress. Therefore, it was suggested that in the selection of lodging resistant cultivars one should consider those characterized with large ratio of outer radius of stem to stem wall thickness, great-erschlerenchyma tissue proportion, high average number of big VB per unit with high cellulose content in their stems.
WANG JianZHU JinmaoLIN QinqinLI XiaojuanTENG NianjunLI ZhenshengLI BinZHANG AiminLIN Jinxing
Wheat is a staple food crop in the world as well as in China. Because of the progress of wheat breeding and other agricultural ＂sci-technologies, the wheat grain yield per unit area has increased more than five folds from 1952 to 2006 in China. The first part of this article briefly reviews the history of wheat breeding in China. Second, the establishment of ＂Triticum aestivum-Agropyron＂ distant hybridization system and its contribution to wheat production and breeding in China are summarized. Finally, the future challenges of wheat breeding are discussed, which include how to increase the utilization efficiencies of water, soil nutrient and light energy through breeding. As an example, our research progress on how to increase light use efficiency in wheat through breeding is introduced and discussed.
Dynamic changes in flag leaf angle, anatomy, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, population photosynthesis, and light transmission are investigated in three wheat cultivars: Xiaoyan 81 (Xy 81) in which flag leaf angle changes from erect to draped, Xiaoyan 41 (Xy 41) in which flag leaf angle changes from erect to half draped (middle type), and Xiaoyan 6 (Xy 6) in which the flag leaf remains erect from the flowering to the grain-filling stage. No obvious differences in leaf thickness, leaf area, mesophyll morphology, granal stacking, photosynthesis, or chlorophyll content are found among the three cultivars. It is of interest to find that the flag leaf angle of Xy 81 changes from erect to draped during the grain - filling stage, but there are no obvious changes in chlorophyll content or photosynthetic capacity during this period, indicating that changes in flag leaf angle do not result from senescence. Moreover, the study shows that levels of population photosynthesis and light transmission in Xy 81 are higher than in Xy 41 and Xy 6. Taken together, these results demonstrate that dynamic changes in Xy 81 flag leaf angle enhance population photosynthesis and thus may improve wheat yield.
