Exploiting the Genetic Variability of Aegilops tauschii in the Improvement of Bread Wheat

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, AABBDD) has limited intraspecific variability, so breeders turned to its diploid progenitor Aegilops tauschii (DD) to expand the gene pool. INRA and Club5 created synthetic hexaploid wheats by hybridizing tetraploid wheats with Ae. tauschii accessions. They assessed these synthetics and crossed them with elite bread wheats adapted to low-input systems. The project revealed large variability in grain storage proteins critical for baking quality and yielded lines with resistance to diseases and competitive yields under reduced inputs. However, these lines were late-maturing, tall, prone to lodging, and had lower alveograph strength (W).