TILLING as a method for improving durum wheat

The availability of water is a major limitation on global food production. Climate change models predict that the amount of water available in some areas around the Mediterranean will decrease markedly by the end of this century. This will reduce still further the current low yields of wheat, averaging less than 21 ha-1 in this region, unless action is taken. The FP7 project, OPTIWHEAT, aims to improve the yield stability of durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions through a variety of forward and reverse genetic approaches, with project partners from the UK and countries bordering the Mediterranean. A population of more than 4,500 independent lines of mutated tetraploid durum wheat has been established. Mutagenised plants have been grown and phenotyped under field conditions. DNA isolated from the lines has been screened for mutations by TILLING in several candidate genes likely to affect the ability of the plants to perform well in drought conditions, by making more efficient use of water and nitrogen.