Tan spot and Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) are important diseases of wheat caused by the necrotrophic fungi Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and Parastagonospora nodorum, respectively. The P. tritici-repentis necrotrophic effector (NE) Ptr ToxB causes tan spot when recognized by the Tsc2 gene. The NE ToxA is produced by both pathogens and has been associated with the development of both tan spot an...

Glutenin is a major protein fraction contributing to the functional properties of gluten and dough. The glutenin constitutes 30-40% of the protein in wheat flour and about half of that in gluten. It is essential to identify correct glutenin alleles and to improve wheat quality by selecting alleles that exert favorable effects. Moroccan wheat cultivars are unique in West Asia and North Africa re...

Fusarium head blight (scab) is one of the most widespread and damaging diseases of wheat, causing grain yield and quality losses and production of harmful mycotoxins. Development of resistant varieties is hampered by lack of effective resistance sources in the tetraploid wheat primary gene pool. Here we dissected the genetic basis of resistance in a new durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum...

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most prevalent trichothecene in Europe and its occurrence is associated with infections of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum, causal agents of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat. Resistance to FHB is a complex character and high variability occurs in the relationship between DON content and FHB incidence. DON conjugation to glucose (DON-3-glucoside, D3G) is the p...

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L., 2n = 4x = 28; AABB genomes) is a natural hybrid-an allotetraploid between 2 wild species, Triticum urartu Tumanian (AA genome) and Aegilops speltoides Tausch (BB genome). Even at the allotetraploid level, durum wheat can tolerate chromosomal imbalance, for example, addition of alien chromosome 1E of diploid wheatgrass, Lophopyrum elongatum. Therefore, one way ...

The hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum) adult plant resistance gene, Lr34/Yr18/Sr57/Pm38/Ltn1, provides broad-spectrum resistance to wheat leaf rust (Lr34), stripe rust (Yr18), stem rust (Sr57) and powdery mildew (Pm38) pathogens, and has remained effective in wheat crops for many decades. The partial resistance provided by this gene is only apparent in adult plants and not effective in field-g...

Salinity as well as drought are increasing problems in agriculture. Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum Desf.) is relatively salt sensitive compared with bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and yields poorly on saline soil. Field studies indicate that roots of durum wheat do not proliferate as extensively as bread wheat in saline soil. In order to look for genetic diversity in root gro...

Drought is a major abiotic stress that is threatening the production and the survival of many crops such as cereals. The response of three Aegilops crassa accessions (C1, C2 and C3) that inhabit areas with different rates of rainfall and durum wheat to controlled drought (with soil moisture of 50% field capacity) was tested in terms of changes in: relative water content, chlorophyll content, ch...

Characterization of germplasm by DNA-markers provides a tool for precise germplasm identification and a quantitative assessment of genetic diversity. The genetic structure of the durum wheat germplasm grown in the Mediterranean basin varies largely from traditional landraces and cultivars characterized by a high versatility, to the modern varieties characterized by high yield potential, wide ad...