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Allopolyploidy greatly expands the range of possible regulatory interactions among functionally redundant homoeologous genes. However, connection between the emerging regulatory complexity and expression and phenotypic diversity in polyploid crops remains elusive. Here, we use diverse wheat accessions to map expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and evaluate their effects on the population-scale variation in homoeolog expression dosage. The relative contribution of cis- and trans-eQTL to homoeolog expression variation is strongly affected by both selection and demographic events. Though trans-acting effects play major role in expression regulation, the expression dosage of homoeologs is largely influenced by cis-acting variants, which appear to be subjected to selection. The frequency and expression of homoeologous gene alleles showing strong expression dosage bias are predictive of variation in yield-related traits, and have likely been impacted by breeding for increased productivity. Our study highlights the importance of genomic variants affecting homoeolog expression dosage in shaping agronomic phenotypes and points at their potential utility for improving yield in polyploid crops.

Recycling of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular structures through autophagy plays a critical role in cellular homeostasis and environmental resilience. Therefore, the autophagy trait may have been unintentionally selected in wheat breeding programs for higher yields in arid climates. This hypothesis was tested by measuring the response of three common autophagy markers, ATG7, ATG8, and NBR1, to a heat wave under reduced soil moisture content in 16 genetically diverse spring wheat landraces originating from different geographical locations. We observed in the greenhouse trials that ATG8 and NBR1 exhibited genotype-specific responses to a 1 h, 40 °C heat wave, while ATG7 did not show a consistent response. Three genotypes from Uruguay, Mozambique, and Afghanistan showed a pattern consistent with higher autophagic activity: decreased or stable abundance of both ATG8 and NBR1 proteins, coupled with increased transcription of ATG8 and NBR1. In contrast, three genotypes from Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Egypt exhibited elevated ATG8 protein levels alongside reduced or unaltered ATG8 transcript levels, indicating a potential suppression or no change in autophagic activity. Principal component analysis demonstrated a correlation between lower abundance of ATG8 and NBR1 proteins and higher yield in the field trials. We found that (i) the combination of heat and drought activated autophagy only in several genotypes, suggesting that despite being a resilience mechanism, autophagy is a heat-sensitive process; (ii) higher autophagic activity correlates positively with greater yield; (iii) the lack of autophagic activity in some high-yielding genotypes suggests contribution of alternative stress-resilient mechanisms; and (iv) enhanced autophagic activity in response to heat and drought was independently selected by wheat breeding programs in different geographic locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici is the causal agent of stem rust of wheat. A new race designated TTKSK (also known as Ug99) and its variants (TTKST and TTTSK) are virulent to most of the stem rust resistance genes currently deployed in wheat cultivars worldwide. Therefore, identification, mapping, and deployment of effective resistance genes are critical components of global efforts to mitigate this threat. Multipathotype seedling tests demonstrated that resistance gene Sr35 is effective against the three TTKS variants and another broadly virulent race from Yemen, TRTTF. Two genetic maps of Sr35 are presented in diploid (Triticum monococcum) and two in hexaploid wheat (T. aestivum). The Sr35 resistance to TRTTF and RKQQC races was mapped in diploid wheat within a 2.2 to 3.1 cM interval on the long arm of chromosome 3Aᵐ between markers XBF483299 and XCJ656351 This interval corresponds to a 174-kb region in Brachypodium that includes 16 annotated genes. The Sr35 map location was confirmed in two backcross-derived hexaploid populations segregating for Sr35 Recombination between diploid and hexaploid chromosomes was 10-fold lower than between homologous chromosomes, but was sufficient to reduce the introgressed diploid segment. These maps provide markers closely linked to Sr35 that will be useful to accelerate its deployment and pyramiding with other stem rust resistance genes.