Project Number: 5442-21000-030-03
Project Type: Specific C/A

Start Date: Jun 01, 2002
End Date: May 31, 2007

Objective:
To develop and characterize genetic mutants in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat for gene discovery. Specifically, to develop genetic mutants by physical and chemical means, and to characterize them based on altered phenotypes and molecular changes at the nucleic acid level.

Approach:
The hexaploid wheat cultivars 'Bobwhite' and 'Chinese Spring', and the tetraploid durum wheat cultivar 'Langdon', will be treated with the chemical mutagen ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS). Seed of Langdon and Chinese Spring will also be exposed to fast-neutron bombardment, which produces physical mutations by creating small deletions in chromosomal DNA. Progeny of mutagenized seed will be grown in field and greenhouse settings to analyze mutants phenotypically. Progeny harboring mutations at the Q and Tsn1 loci will be further analyzed by various genetic means to verify that the observed mutations occurred at the predicted locus. The Q and Tsn1 mutants will also be analyzed with known molecular markers to further characterize the mutated locus. In addition, the utility of high-throughput technologies such as 'Targeted Induced Local Lesions in Genomes' (TILLING) will be explored and established for wheat. This technology has already been established for other plant species such as Arabidopsis and provides a means of rapid identification of mutations throughout the genome in large populations. Such technology is vital to high-throughput gene discovery in wheat, and once established will be made available to the wheat research community.

Project Team

Faris, Justin Bikram Gill - University Distinguished Professor 701-239-1339

Project Annual Reports

FY 2003   FY 2002

Related National Programs

Plant, Microbial & Insect Genetic Res., Genomics, & Genetic Improv. I (301)   Plant Diseases (303)