Genetic Architecture of Male Traits for Hybrid Wheat Seed Production

1. Genetic Architecture of Male
Traits for Hybrid Wheat Seed
Production
Nicholas Garst: Graduate Research Assistant
Stephen Baenziger: Advisor

2. What is a hybrid?
https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/yieldtrends.html
Open Pollinated
Double Cross Hybrids
Single Cross Hybrids

3. Why develop hybrids in wheat?
Genetic gain for grain yield needs to increase from 1% to at least 1.4%
per year. Flavell (2016) & Graybosch and Peterson (2010)
New breeding strategies like hybridizing traditionally self-pollinated
crops offer a 3.5% to 15% yield advantage. Flavell (2016) & Longin et al. (2012)
Hybrid wheat has also been shown to have higher yield stability in
diverse environments. Muhleisen et al. (2013)
• UNL/TAMU hybrids are tested in 6 non-irrigated locations across Nebraska &
Texas

4. Hybrids failed in the past, what we can do
now to make them successful?
1. Use modern tools to accelerate hybrid development
oGenomics & High Throughput Phenotyping
2. Lower the cost of production by converting wheat from a self
pollinated species into a cross pollinated species
oHow do we do this?

5. Anther Extrusion

6. Initial Results: Genome Wide Association
Mapping

7. What is next?
• Continue work on anther extrusion.
oGenomic Prediction approach
oBulk Segregate analysis
• Measure pollination duration and anther length (correlated to
amount of pollen) in the Hard Winter Wheat Association Mapping
Panel

8. Thank You
waterforfood.nebraska.edu