[ad_1]
Curtis Pozniak, Associate Professor at the Crop Development Center (CDC) and the Department of Plant Science, in one of her test fields near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) played a key role in an international consortium that sequenced the entire genome of durum wheat – the semolina source for pasta, a staple food for the world's population, according to an article published today in Nature Genetics.
"This innovative work will lead to new standards for durum selection and durum safety, paving the way for the production of durum varieties that are better adapted to climate challenges, with higher yields and nutritional quality." improved and improved durability, "Luigi Cattivelli of the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA).
In an exciting discovery, USask plant breeder Curtis Pozniak and University of Alberta scientists Gregory Taylor and Neil Harris identified the gene responsible for cadmium accumulation, a toxic heavy metal present in many soils. The USask team has discovered how to significantly reduce cadmium levels in durum wheat grains, while ensuring the safety and nutritional value of grains through selective breeding.
The durum wheat genome is four times larger than the human genome. The team has for the first time badembled the complete genome of the high quality Svevo variety.
"We can now look at the genes, their order, and their structure to develop a plan for understanding how genes work and communicate," says Pozniak. "With this plan, we can now work quickly to identify the genes that are responsible for the traits we select in our breeding programs, such as yield, disease resistance, and nutritional properties."
The research involved more than 60 scientists from seven countries. The work was coordinated by Cattivelli and included the corresponding writers Pozniak of the USask and Klaus Mayer of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (Germany), as well as researchers Aldo Ceriotti and Luciano Milanesi of the Italian National Research Council CNR and Roberto Tuberosa from the University of Bologna. (Italy).
Durum wheat is grown primarily in Canada, Europe, the United States and South Asia, and remains a key crop for small farms in North and East Africa, as well as in the Middle East. -East.
"This is an exciting development for durum farmers, because it means that wheat breeders will be able to produce varieties with improved yields and increased resistance to diseases, pests and diseases." environmental stressors, "says Laura Reiter, president of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission. Board of Directors, operating a farm near Radisson, Saskatchewan.
"Investing in this research on behalf of Saskatchewan durum producers is expected to generate productivity gains and seize opportunities in markets that seek the high quality grain produced by Saskatchewan producers." She said.
Durum wheat, mainly used as raw material for pasta and couscous production, evolved from emmer wild wheat and became a dominant crop about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago in the Mediterranean region.
Scientists compared the durum wheat sequence to its wild parent and were able to reveal the genes that humans have selected over the centuries. The team discovered a loss of genomic diversity in durum wheat compared to its counterpart in wild wheat, and was able to map these areas of loss and accurately recover the beneficial genes lost over centuries of breeding.
"We can now see the distinct DNA signatures that have been so critical for the evolution and selection of durum wheat, allowing us to understand which gene combination generates a particular signature and to retain the target areas of the genome in order to A future improvement of the selection, "says Marco Maccaferri, lead author of the manuscript.
As pasta is a staple for the world's population, industries are calling for more durum wheat, safer and better.
Source link
