Biology subjects

Safdar, L. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Safdar, L. B..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Mutations in HOMEOBOX DOMAIN-2 improve grain protein content in wheat without significantly affecting grain yield and senescence

MicroRNA-resistant alleles of HOMEOBOX DOMAIN-2 (HB-2) were recently reported to improve grain protein content (GPC) in wheat by modifying vascular development in stems to increase amino acid distribution to grain. However, it is not known if these alleles increase GPC at the expense of other physiologically important traits, such as senescence and yield-component traits. Here, we evaluated the effects of mutations in HB-2 on grain yield and nitrogen (N)-use efficiency as well as senescence and plant architecture in multi-environment glasshouse and field experiments. In glasshouse experiments, the mutations in HB-2 moderately improved GPC irrespective of N supply and without accelerating senescence or decreasing grain number or weight compared to the wildtype spring wheat cv. Cadenza. The trait analysis indicated mutant plants were more tolerant of N limitation in terms of above-ground N reduction compared to the wild type. The expression of all HB-2 homeologues increased in spikes at the lemma primordium stage in response to N limitation, indicating the later GPC increase could be a result of enhanced N sink strength determined during early development, rather than processes caused by direct changes in HB-2 expression in the grain. In field experiments, the introgression of HB-2 alleles into Australian elite spring wheat cultivars significantly improved GPC without compromising grain yield. The outcomes of this study support the introduction of miRNA-resistant HB-2 alleles, with a preference to HB-A2, into commercial wheat for improving grain quality without a yield penalty.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Identification of genetic factors controlling phosphorus utilization efficiency in wheat by genome-wide association study with principal component analysis

Despite the economic importance of P utilization efficiency, information on genetic factors underlying this trait remains elusive. To address that, we performed a genome-wide association study in a spring wheat diversity panel ranging from landraces to elite varieties. We evaluated the phenotype variation for P utilization efficiency in controlled conditions and genotype variation using wheat 90K SNP array. Phenotype variables were transformed into a smaller set of uncorrelated principal components that captured the most important variation data. We identified two significant loci associated with both P utilization efficiency and the 1st principal component on chromosomes 3A and 4A: qPE1-3A and qPE2-4A. Annotation of genes at these loci revealed 53 wheat genes, among which 6 were identified in significantly enriched pathways. The expression pattern of these 6 genes indicated that TraesCS4A02G481800, involved in pyruvate metabolism and TCA cycle, had a significantly higher expression in the P efficient variety under limited P conditions. Further characterization of these loci and candidate genes can help stimulate P utilization efficiency in wheat. KEY MESSAGEWe report two new loci for P utilization efficiency on chromosomes 3A and 4A of wheat. The prioritized candidate genes at these loci can be investigated by molecular biology techniques to improve P efficiency in wheat and grass relatives.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Genome Wide Association Study of Resistance to PstS2 and Warrior Races of Stripe (Yellow) Rust in Bread Wheat Landraces.

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici is a major threat to wheat production worldwide. The breakdown in resistance of certain major genes and new emerging aggressive races of stripe rusts are causing serious concerns in all main wheat growing areas of the world. To search for new sources of resistance genes and associated QTL for effective utilization in future breeding programs an association mapping panel comprising of 600 bread wheat landraces collected from eight different countries conserved at ICARDA gene bank were evaluated for seedling and adult plant resistance against PstS2 and Warrior races of stripe rust at the Regional Cereal Rust Research Center (RCRRC), Izmir, Turkey during 2016, 2018 and 2019. A set of 25,169 informative SNP markers covering the whole genome were used to examine the population structure, linkage disequilibrium and marker-trait associations in the association mapping panel. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out using a Mixed Linear Model (MLM). We identified 47 SNP markers at 19 genomic regions with significant SNP-trait associations for both seedling and adult plant stage resistance, the threshold of significance for all SNP-trait associations was determined by the false discovery rate (q) [≤] 0.05. Three genomic regions (QYr.1D_APR, QYr.3A_seedling and QYr.7D_seedling) identified in this study are far away from any previously reported Yr gene or QTL hence, tagging novel genomic regions. The In-silico analysis of the novel QTL regions identified candidate resistance genes encoding proteins putative to plants disease resistance and defense mechanism.

genetics↗