Kenya Kudu, a Kenyan wheat variety, exhibits robust adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust. To dissect the genetic architecture underlying this resistance, we conducted quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping using 195 F_2∶3 lines derived from a cross between Kenya Kudu and the susceptible cultivar Zhengzhou 5389. Field evaluations were carried out in Baoding, Hebei Province and Zhoukou, Henan Province during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 growing seasons. Plants were inoculated with a mixture of virulent Puccinia triticina (Pt) races to assess APR. Phenotypic data on disease severity were integrated with genotypic data from 660K SNP array and SSR markers for QTL analysis. The results demonstrated that three novel adult plant resistance QTLs to leaf rust were identified on wheat chromosomes 2B and 5B. Two QTLs were located on chromosome 5B, provisionally designated as QLr.hbau-5B.1 and QLr.hbau-5B.2, accounting for 8.3~10.5% and 6.9~8.6% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. One QTL located on chromosome 2B, provisionally designated QLr.hbau-2B, accounted for 7.2~10.6% of the phenotypic variation and may correspond to a known leaf rust resistance locus. These results demonstrate that Kenya Kudu's resistance is attributed to the additive effects of multiple minor-effect QTLs. The identified QTLs and their closely linked molecular markers offer critical genetic tools for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in breeding wheat cultivars with durable resistance to leaf rust.

In order to further explore the quantitative trait locus (QTL) for tillering-related traits in wheat, and to explore the genetic relationship between tillering traits, we used 255 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) populations, constructed from Apache and Xindong 36, as research materials to determine several key metrics. These included the number of pre-winter tillers, the number of single tillers, the number of effective tillers, the effective tillers per unit area, and the tiller angle. The phenotypic values of spike rate were determined in four environments. The QTL controlling tillering-related traits was carried out based on the ultra-low depth sequencing data of the RIL populations. The results showed that a total of 53 QTLs for tillering traits were detected on 15 chromosomes, including 13 QTLs for pre-winter tiller number, 10 QTLs for single-plant tiller number, 8 QTLs for effective tiller number per plant, 11 QTLs for effective tiller number per unit area, 4 QTLs for tiller angle, 2 QTLs for spike-forming rate, and 5 pleiotropism QTLs. The phenotypic interpretation rates of individual QTLs ranged from 2.66% to 28.76%. Among them, QTn.xjau-4B was detected in all three environments, with a phenotypic contribution rate of 28.76% to the effective number of tillers of a single plant. This stable QTL is a major effective and R-E-Z locus, which can be used as an important locus for the study of tillering and plant type.

In or der to under stand the difference of agronomic traits among different wheat varieties (lines) in Huang-Huai wheat region, this study analyzed 626 wheat varieties (lines) participated in the national wheat regional trials in the Huang-Huai wheat region from 2015 to 2023, focusing on seven traits: heading date, spikelet number, spike length, average length of rachis node, kernels per spike, plant height, and thousand-kernel weight. The results showed that in the southern zone of the Huang-Huai Wheat Region, heading date was positively correlated with kernels per spike and spikelet number; plant height was positively correlated with spike length and spikelet number; whereas no such correlations were observed in the northern zone. This indicates that dwarf plants with large spikes coordinated the reduction in plant height with a moderate delay in heading date, possibly achieving stable spike length and increased kernels per spike in the southern zone, ultimately leading to shorter average length of rachis node. There was no significant correlation between kernels per spike and thousand-kernel weight, suggesting possible synergistic improvement of both traits. In contrast, there is a significant negative correlation between the two traits in the northern zone, indicating a trade-off between two traits. Significant differences were observed between the southern and northern zones in spike and plant-related agronomic traits. Longer spikes and average rachis node length, more spikelets, greater thousand-kernel weights, earlier heading dates, and shorter plant heights were observed in the varieties (lines) from southern zone compared to those in northern zone. Phenotypic differences were also varied across provinces. Varieties (lines) bred by Henan breeding institutions exhibited the highest thousand-kernel weights and more spikelet numbers, with spike lengths only shorter than those from Jiangsu. Varieties bred by Shaanxi breeding institutions showed highest kernels per spike. Shandong varieties exhibited the shortest spikes and latest heading dates but were shorter in plant height than those from Jiangsu, Hebei, and Anhui province. Jiangsu varieties (lines) showed the longest spikes but the fewest spikelets and longest average rachis nodes. Based on the seven agronomic traits, the 626 varieties (lines) were classified into two major groups, which were further divided into four subgroups. Subgroup classification was associated with breeding provinces and agronomic traits. Varieties (lines) in subgroup 1-2 had more spikelet and kernels per spike, and great thousand-kernel weight. These advantages were mostly inherited from Zhoumai series varieties (lines), which can be used for genetic improvement of wheat spike traits.

The GATA gene family is a crucial class of transcriptional regulators in plants, widely involved in plant growth, development, and various physiological and biochemical processes. In this study, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the barley GATA transcription factor family was performed using bioinformatics approaches, including gene identification, structural characterization, collinearity analysis, promoter element prediction, and expression pattern profiling. The results showed that the barley genome contains a total of 27 GATA genes (designated as HvGATA01-HvGATA27), which were unevenly distributed across the 7 chromosomes. Gene structure analysis revealed that the number of introns in HvGATA genes ranged from 0 to 7, with distinct intron-exon arrangements observed among different subgroups. All members contain the typical GATA conserved domain. Phylogenetic analysis divided them into five subgroups (S1-S5), of which subgroup S5 contains 9 members, while subgroup S3 has only one member. Except for S3, the remaining subgroups existed before the divergence of monocots and dicots. Collinearity analysis revealed that collinear GATA gene pairs exist between the barley genome and those of rice, Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon, soybean, and tomato. Notably, the number of collinear gene pairs in barley-rice and barley-Brachypodium distachyon comparisons was significantly higher than that in the other three species. Cis-acting element analysis indicated that the promoter regions of barley GATA genes are enriched with light-responsive elements and hormone signaling-related elements. Expression profiling showed significant differential expression patterns across 16 barley tissues, with most HvGATA genes exhibiting high expression in inflorescence tissues, while low expression was observed in deglumed grains, suggesting their potential involvement in barley flowering development regulation.

To elucidate the promoter of the barley LRR-type receptor-like protein kinase gene HvLRR-RLK510 and its function, specific PCR primers were used to amplify the promoter of the HvLRR-RLK510 gene from Morex and Baodamai 8. The pEASY®-510 recombinant plasmid was constructed, and the promoter sequence of 2 368 bp was sequenced based on the positive colonies of the Escherichia coli Trans1-T₁ strain. The prediction results from the online software PlantCARE indicated that the promoter contains response elements to non-biotic factors such as methyl jasmonate, abscisic acid, and low temperature. GUS staining results in roots, stems, leaves, and flowers of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana and transiently expressed Nicotiana benthamiana plants demonstrated that the cloned promoter and its truncated fragments (-1 458, -868, and -460 bp) can equivalently drive the expression of the GUS gene in anthers. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that methyl jasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), low temperature, polyethylene glycol (PEG-2000), and light can effectively alter the expression characteristics of the HvLRR-RLK510 gene in barley leaves and roots. The promoter of the HvLRR-RLK510 gene cloned in this study is an inducible promoter containing response elements to jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, low temperature, drought, and light. Its -460 bp truncated fragment can replace the full-length promoter. The promoter and its truncated fragments can be used to elucidate the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of the HvLRR-RLK510 gene.

To investigate the effects of late spring coldness on wheat plant morphology and yield traits, 18 wheat varieties (lines), including C112-8, Aikang 58, and Bainong 207, were used as experimental materials. During the anther interval formation stage, low temperature stress was simulated using a low-temperature incubator to mimic late spring coldness. The study analyzed changes in leaf and spike frost damage, plant height, and yield after the occurrence of late spring coldness, as well as the cold resistance of different wheat materials. The results showed that wheat leaf yellowed, leaf area decreased, plant height decreased, and spike type decreased after low temperature stress treatment. Low temperature stress resulted in the decrease of panicle number, grain number per spike and 1 000-grain weight, and finally decreased the yield. Through principal component analysis of 13 traits three principal components with characteristic values greater than 1 were extracted, and their cumulative contribution rate reached 82.954%. Cluster analysis was conducted on the 18 wheat materials based on the comprehensive value of membership functions (D value), where Aikang 58, Baoyan 12, and Hemai 918 exhibited strong resistance to late spring coldness. Hengmai H195105, Nongda 1980, Zhengmai 366, Xinong 529, Shaanmai 139, Taikemai 0311, Xinong 20, Yingbo 700, and Bainong 207 showed medium resistance to late spring coldness, while the remaining wheat materials had weaker resistance.

In order to clarify the effects of post-flowering spraying of sulfur fertilizer on the formation of glutenin macro-polymer (GMP) and flour milling quality of strong-gluten wheat in Eastern of Hebei Province, the strong-gluten wheat varieties Zhongmai 886 and Jinnong 7 were selected in the present study, and the treatments of spraying of water (CK) and spraying of methanethionine (Met) and ammonium sulfate (S) were set up to analyze the changes of grain yield, protein content, GMP content and grain size distribution, and flour milling quality of strong-gluten wheat after post-flowering spraying of Met and ammonium sulfate (S). The results showed that compared with CK, the protein content of Zhongmai 886 was enhanced by 0.63 and 0.25 percentage points, and that of Jinnong 7 was increased by 0.64 and 0.27 percentage points after spraying Met and S, respectively. The GMP content of Zhongmai 886 kernels was increased by 0.37 and 0.15 percentage points under Met and S treatments, respectively, while that of Jinnong 7 was increased by 0.48 and 0.18 percentage points, respectively. However, Met treatment resulted in a 2.5% and 1.9% decrease in yield for Zhongmai 886 and Jinnong 7, respectively, while S treatment reduced yield by 8.6% and 9.2%. Post-flowering spraying of sulfur fertilizer promoted the increase in the volume, surface area and number ratio of large-size GMP particles in strong-gluten wheat kernels. Met treatment significantly increased the content of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, disulfide bonds and free sulfhydryl groups in strong-gluten wheat proteins, while S treatment mainly increased the content of low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, disulfide bonds and free sulfhydryl groups. Met treatment optimized the rheological properties of strong-gluten wheat doughs across the board, while S treatment enhanced only the wet gluten of Zhongmai 886 and the water absorption of Jinnong 7. In conclusion, the post-flowering spraying of sulfur fertilizer reduced the yield slightly, but it improved the processing quality by regulating the glutenin polymerization composition, in which the spraying of Met had a more prominent improvement effect.

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) can induce flowering habits. In order to further elucidate the regulatory role of MeJA on the flowering habits, lodicule morhpology, and outcrossing seed setting rate of photo-thermo sensitive male sterile lines of wheat, this study immersed the wheat line BS141 with 4 mmol·L^-1 MeJA at 2 days post-anthesis, using water-immersed spikes as a control. The effects of MeJA on the daily anthesis rate, temporal variations in flowering, the glume opening rate, anthesis angle, lemma morphology, and outcrossing seed setting were investigated. The results demonstrated that upon treatment with MeJA, the glume opening rate of the BS141 peaked on the day of treatment, showing an increase of 31.45 percentage points compared to the control group. However, starting from the second day, this number was significantly lower than that of the control. From the fourth to the fifth day, there was no significant difference compared with the control. Pollination at the time when the glume opening rate was the highest increased the outcrossing seed setting rate of BS141 by 24.77 percentage points compared with the control. The peak flowering period of the MeJA-treated BS141 was predominantly concentrated at 13:00, whereas the control was more dispersed. The stigma exsertion rate of BS141 was statistically analyzed at 10:00 a.m. It was found that the stigma exsertion rate of BS141 treated with MeJA was lower than that of the control within 5 days. The overall maximum daily opening angle of BS141 treated with MeJA was lower than that of the control group. Therefore, by spraying exogenous MeJA, the glume opening rate of wheat photo-thermo sensitive male sterile line could be maximized on the day of spraying, and the flowering peak was relatively concentrated. At this time, pollination could significantly increase the outcrossing seed setting rate. However, spraying MeJA had no significant effect on the stigma exsertion rate and the maximum opening angle.

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), as a novel plant growth regulator, has been widely applied in alleviating abiotic stress in plants. In this study, a wheat cultivar Yangmai 25 was used as the experimental material to investigate the effects of seed soaking with different concentrations of 5-ALA (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mg·L^-1) on seed germination, material activation, energy supply, as well as ionic and redox homeostasis under salt stress simulated by 100 mmol·L^-1 NaCl solution. The objectives were to identify the optimal concentration of 5-ALA for enhancing salt tolerance in wheat seeds and to elucidate its physiological mechanisms. The results demonstrated that seed soaking with 5-ALA (5-100 mg·L^-1) markedly shortened the mean germination time of wheat seeds under salt stress by 0.23-0.42 days and significantly promoted the growth of both radicle and coleoptile. Further analysis revealed that 25 mg·L^-1 5-ALA priming increased wheat swelling rates, as well as the activities of amylase, 6-phosphofructokinase, and hexokinase under salt stress, along with enhanced respiration rates and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, while significantly reducing starch and soluble sugar contents in wheat. Although 5-ALA priming did not mitigate excessive Na⁺ accumulation in wheat under salt stress, it effectively inhibited K⁺ loss induced by salt stress. Moreover, 5-ALA priming significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation in wheat under salt stress. These findings suggest that 5-ALA seed priming promotes wheat seed germination and growth under salt stress by accelerating starch degradation, maintaining energy supply levels, and preserving ionic and redox homeostasis.

This study aimed to systematically compare the differences in the aggregation effects of large-spike and large-grain traits between dwarf male-sterile wheat and common wheat using the novel large-spike germplasm Luoxin 001 and large-grain germplasm Luomai 76. Additionally, it sought to screen elite recombinant materials, providing a theoretical basis for efficiently aggregating superior traits using dwarf male-sterile wheat. Zhoumai 22 and its near-isogenic dwarf male-sterile wheat line (dwarf male-sterile Zhoumai 22) were used as female parents to hybridize with Luoxin 001 and Luomai 76, constructing common wheat and dwarf male-sterile wheat populations. Twelve spike and grain related traits were evaluated in the initial segregating generations. Diversity analysis, correlation analysis, principal component and cluster analysis were comprehensively used to assess the impact of dwarf male-sterile wheat on selection populations and progeny lines, and the elite recombinant materials were identified. Both selection populations exhibited high diversity indices (5.47-5.60), indicating abundant variation across traits. Significant differences were observed between the two populations for all traits except spike length, number of spikelets, spikelet density, and thousand-kernel weight. The dwarf male-sterile selection population showed higher coefficients of variation (>10%) in spike-related traits (except number of spikelets), stronger positive correlations among most spike and grain traits, and enhanced potential for breaking trait linkages. Based on principal component analysis (four components, cumulative contribution rate 89.29%), cluster analysis divided the populations into seven groups. Groups Ⅳ and Ⅶ exhibited transgressive segregation for the combination of large-spike and large-grain traits: Group Ⅳ exhibited transgressive superiority in spike traits, while group Ⅶ excelled in grain traits. Group Ⅳ (77.19% from the dwarf male-sterile wheat population) was identified as the ideal target, demonstrating the superiority of dwarf male-sterile wheat in aggregating large-spike and large-grain traits.