Agronomy (Nov 2021)

Variation in Root System Architecture among the Founder Parents of Two 8-way MAGIC Wheat Populations for Selection in Breeding

  • Shree R. Pariyar,
  • Kerstin A. Nagel,
  • Jonas Lentz,
  • Anna Galinski,
  • Jens Wilhelm,
  • Alexander Putz,
  • Sascha Adels,
  • Kathrin Heinz,
  • Claus Frohberg,
  • Michelle Watt

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11122452
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 12
p. 2452

Abstract

Read online

Root system architecture (RSA) is a target for breeding crops with effective nutrient and water use. Breeding can use populations designed to map quantitative trait loci (QTL). Here we non-invasively phenotype roots and leaves of the 16 foundation parents of two multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) populations, covering diversity in spring (CSIRO MAGIC) and winter (NIAB MAGIC) wheats. RSA components varied after 16 days in the upgraded, paper-based imaging platform, GrowScreen-PaGe: lateral root length 2.2 fold; total root length, 1.9 fold; and seminal root angle 1.2 fold. RSA components total and lateral root length had the highest root heritabilities (H2) (H2 = 0.4 for CSIRO and NIAB parents) and good repeatability (r = 0.7) in the GrowScreen-PaGe. These can be combined with leaf length (H2 = 0.8 CSIRO; 0.7 NIAB) and number (H2 = 0.6 CSIRO; 0.7 NIAB) to identify root and shoot QTL to breed for wheats with vigorous RSA and shoot growth at establishment, a critical phase for crop productivity. Time resolved phenotyping of MAGIC wheats also revealed parents to cross in future for growth rate traits (fastest: Robigus–NIAB and AC Barrie–CSIRO; slowest Rialto–NIAB and G204 Xiaoyan54–CSIRO) and root: shoot allocation traits (fast growers grew roots, notably laterals, quicker than leaves, compared to slow growers).

Keywords