Researchers Discover Temperature Tolerance Gene in Wheat

Researchers in the group of Professor Graham Moore at the John Innes Centre (JIC) have discovered a temperature tolerance factor that may protect wheat from the increasingly unpredictable challenges of climate change. The researchers made the discovery during experiments looking at wheat fertility in plants exposed to either high or low temperatures.

Meiosis in wheat functions most efficiently at temperatures between 17-23 degrees centigrade. Wheat does not cope well with hot temperatures and can fail during low summer temperatures. Genetic factors to help stabilize wheat fertility outside optimal temperatures are critical in developing climate-resilient crops of the future. Previous research showed that a major meiotic gene, DMC1 was the likely candidate for preserving wheat meiosis during low and high temperatures.

The JIC researchers used gene editing techniques to delete DMC1 from Chinese Spring Wheat and performed controlled experiments to observe the effects of different temperatures on meiosis in the mutated plants. After approximately one week, the gene-edited mutant plants were significantly affected when grown at a temperature of 13 degrees, with 95% of plants showing a decrease in crossover number.  Wheat plants grown at 30 degrees also showed a reduced number of crossovers compared to control plants. These results confirm the hypothesis that DMC1 is responsible for the preservation of meiotic crossovers at low and, to a lesser degree, high temperatures.

Professor Moore said, “Thanks to gene editing, we have been able to isolate a key temperature tolerance gene in wheat. It provides cause for optimism in finding valuable new traits at a time when climate change is challenging the way we grow our major crops.”

For more details, read the press release on the JIC website.