Transfer of Soft Kernel Texture from Triticum aestivum to Durum Wheat, Triticum turgidum ssp. durum

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) is a leading cereal grain whose primary use is the production of semolina and pasta. Its rich culinary relationship to humans is related, in part, to its very hard kernel texture. This very hard texture is due to the loss of the Puroindoline genes that were eliminated during the allopolyploid formation of T. turgidum approximately 0.5 million years ago. In the present report, we describe the transfer of the Puroindoline genes through ph1bmediated homoeologous recombination. Puroindoline a and Puroindoline b were successfully recombined (translocated) from chromosome 5D of the soft wheat (T. aestivum) variety Chinese Spring into cv. Langdon durum using a Langdon 5D(5B) disomic substitution line. Although initial recombination lines were highly unstable, recurrent backcrossing into Svevo durum cultivar produced stable lines that segregated in a normal 1:2:1 soft:heterozygous:very hard ratio. The fi nal backcross (BC3) Svevo line produced uniformly soft grain (Single Kernel Characterization System hardness of 24 ±14). The transfer of this fundamental grain property to durum wheat will undoubtedly have an expansive and profound effect on the way that durum grain is milled and on the products that are made from it. As such, our interaction with this important food species will continue to evolve. C.F. Morris, USDA-ARS, Western Wheat Quality Lab. (USDA ARS WWQL), E-202 Food Science & Human Nutrition Facility East, P.O. Box 646394, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA 99164-6394; M.C. Simeone, Dep. of Agrobiology and Agrochemistry, Univ. of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo De Lellis, Viterbo, Italy 01100 (formerly postdoctoral research associate at USDA-ARS WWQL); G.E. King, Dep. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State Univ., E-202 Food Science & Human Nutrition Facility, Pullman, WA 99164-6394 (assigned to the USDA-ARS WWQL); D. Lafi andra, Dep. of Agrobiology and Agrochemistry, Univ. of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo De Lellis, Viterbo, Italy 01100. Mention of trademark or proprietary products does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of a product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that may also be suitable. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. Received 27 May 2010. *Corresponding author ([email protected]). Abbreviations: mt, metric tonnes; HI, hardness index; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; SKCS, Single Kernel Characterization System. Published in Crop Sci. 51:114–122 (2011). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.05.0306 Published online 22 Nov. 2010. © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.