Harness the wild: progress and perspectives in wheat genetic improvement

Area of Science:

• Plant genetics
• Crop science
• Evolutionary biology

Background:

• Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) faces reduced genetic diversity due to domestication and breeding.
• This genetic bottleneck limits wheat's adaptability to climate change and stresses.
• Wild relatives represent a valuable source of genetic traits for crop improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advancements in utilizing wheat wild relatives over the past century.
• To evaluate their potential for climate change adaptation in wheat production.
• To explore strategies for gene isolation and pre-breeding for climate-resilient wheat.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of theoretical and technological innovations in wheat wild relative utilization.
• Analysis of genetic resources from wild relatives for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
• Evaluation of strategies for developing climate-resilient wheat varieties.

Main Results:

• Significant progress has been made in using wild relatives for disease and pest resistance in wheat.
• Exploration of genes for abiotic stress tolerance from wild relatives has lagged.
• Wild relatives possess traits crucial for enhancing wheat's resilience to climate change.

Conclusions:

• Wild relatives are essential for broadening genetic diversity in common wheat.
• Strategic utilization of wild relatives is key to developing climate-resilient wheat varieties.
• Further research into abiotic stress tolerance genes from wild relatives is warranted.