Evolution of the bread wheat D-subgenome and enriching it with diversity from Aegilops tauschii

Abstract

Aegilops tauschii, the diploid wild progenitor of the D-subgenome of bread wheat, constitutes a reservoir of genetic diversity for improving bread wheat performance and environmental resilience. To better define and understand this diversity, we sequenced 242 Ae. tauschii accessions and compared them to the wheat D-subgenome. We characterized a rare, geographically-restricted lineage of Ae. tauschii and discovered that it contributed to the wheat D-subgenome, thereby elucidating the origin of bread wheat from at least two independent hybridizations. We then used k-mer-based association mapping to identify discrete genomic regions with candidate genes for disease and pest resistance and demonstrated their functional transfer into wheat by transgenesis and wide crossing, including the generation of a library of ‘synthetic’ hexaploids incorporating diverse Ae. tauschii genomes. This pipeline permits rapid trait discovery in the diploid ancestor through to functional genetic validation in a hexaploid background amenable to breeding.