Population structure, allelic variation at Rht-B1 and Ppd-A1 loci and its effects on agronomic traits in Argentinian durum wheat

• Published in: Scientific reports 2022-06, Vol.12 (1), p.9629-9629, Article 9629
• Main Authors: Achilli, Ana Laura, Roncallo, Pablo Federico, Larsen, Adelina Olga, Dreisigacker, Susanne, Echenique, Viviana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/208/480; 631/208/721; 631/449/711; Agricultural production; Alleles; Crop yield; Cultivars; Dwarfism; Edible Grain - genetics; Field tests; Gene frequency; Genes; Genes, Plant; Genetic diversity; Genetic improvement; Genetic variability; Genomes; Genotype; Genotypes; Germplasm; Grain; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Pasta; Phenotype; Population; Population structure; Proteins; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Triticum - genetics; Triticum durum; Wheat
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13563-w

Exploring the genetic variability in yield and yield-related traits is essential to continue improving genetic gains. Fifty-nine Argentinian durum wheat cultivars were analyzed for important agronomic traits in three field experiments. The collection was genotyped with 3565 genome-wide SNPs and functional markers in order to determine the allelic variation at Rht-B1 and Ppd-A1 genes. Population structure analyses revealed the presence of three main groups, composed by old, modern and genotypes with European or CIMMYT ancestry. The photoperiod sensitivity Ppd-A1b allele showed higher frequency (75%) than the insensitivity one Ppd-A1a ( GS105 ). The semi-dwarfism Rht-B1b and the Ppd-A1a ( GS105 ) alleles were associated with increases in harvest index and decreases in plant height, grain protein content and earlier heading date, although only the varieties carrying the Rht-B1 variants showed differences in grain yield. Out of the two main yield components, grain number per plant was affected by allelic variants at Rht-B1 and Ppd-A1 loci, while no differences were observed in thousand kernel weight. The increases in grain number per spike associated with Rht-B1b were attributed to a higher grain number per spikelet, whereas Ppd-A1a ( GS105 ) was associated with higher grain number per spikelet, but also with lower spikelets per spike.