New Wheat Varieties with Dwarf Genes Show Promise
September 14, 2016 |
The Department of Agriculture and Food of Western Australia is field testing new wheat lines developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Senior research officer Dr. Bob French said the new lines contained alternative dwarfing genes that had a longer coleoptile length, the pointed protective sheath that encases the emerging shoot as it grows from the seed to the soil surface.
Dr. French said that the introduction of dwarfing genes Rht1 and Rht2 into Australian varieties produced wheat crops that are less prone to lodging and have higher yield potential. As a consequence of the genes, the coleoptile length of the crops was shorter at 50-80 millimetres, which left them struggling to emerge when sown deeper than 80mm.
The CSIRO lines include the Rht8 gene, back-crossed to an old, tall variety which has a long coleoptile length. According to Dr. French, a small set of plants in two trials showed that the lines with longer coleoptiles significantly improved emergence from deeper sowing.
For more details, read the news release at the Government of Western Australia website.
|
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- FAO Projects Increase in Maize, Wheat, and Rice Grain Output
- Kanayo Nwanze Receives Inaugural Africa Food Prize
- Uganda's Minister of S&T Lauds Researchers on Biotech Innovations
- Kenya's National Biosafety Authority Gives GM Cotton Partial Nod
- Scientists Develop New Approach to Genetic Modification of Maize and Other Grains
- US EPA Approves New Agrisure® Trait Stack from Syngenta
- New Wheat Varieties with Dwarf Genes Show Promise
- South Asia Biotechnology Centre Invites Public Comments to Support GE Mustard
- Study Highlights Impact of Plant Breeding in the EU
-
Research Highlights
- Fern Protein Expression in Cotton Prevents Whitefly Attack
- Researchers Search for Drought-Related Transcription Factors in Common Bean
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Trehalase Genes Regulate Expression of the Chitin Synthesis in Red Flour Beetle
-
Resources
- Biotech Crop Annual Updates and Biotech Trait Annual Updates
-
Plant
- Geminivirus-Mediated Genome Editing in Potato Using Sequence-Specific Nucleases
- Researchers Engineer Potyvirus Resistance in Arabidopsis Using CRISPR/Cas9
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (November 6, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (October 30, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet