The origin of modern wheats involved alloploidization among related genomes. To determine if Aegilops speltoides was the donor of the B and G genomes in AABB and AAGG tetraploids, we used a 3-tiered approach. Using 70 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci, we sampled molecular diversity among 480 wheat lines from their natural habitats encompassing all S genome Aegilops, the putati...

Hybrids (2n = 3x = 21) between Aegilops ovata and Secale cereale were produced via embryo rescue. Most hybrid morphological traits were intremediate between parents, the plants grew vigorously but were completely sterile. The average frequency of chromosome associations at metaphase I was 19.57-20.19 univalents and 0.40-0.86 rod bivalents. The fertility of the hybrids was restored by doubling t...

The study presents an updated overview of the 14 non-endemic threatened crop wild relatives (CWR) in Italy: Aegilops biuncialis, Ae. uniaristata, ventricosa, Asparagus pastorianus, Beta macrocarpa, Brassica insularis, B. montana, Crambe hispanica subsp. hispanica, C. tataria tataria, Ipomoea sagittata, Lathyrus amphicarpos, L. palustris, Vicia cusnae and V. serinica. Geographical distribution, ...

This paper analyses relationships between relative growth rate (), seed mass, biomass allocation, photosynthetic rate and other plant traits as well as habitat factors (rainfall and altitude) in 20 wild species of Aegilops L. and one closely related species of Amblyopyrum (Jaub. & Spach) Eig., which differ in ploidy level (diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid). The plants were grown hydroponica...

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum) has for decades been a textbook example of the evolution of a major crop species by allopolyploidization. Using a sophisticated extension of the PCR technique, we have successfully isolated two single-copy nuclear genes, DMC1 and EF-G, from each of the three genomes found in hexaploid wheat (BA(u)D) and from the two genomes of the tetraploid progenitor Triticum ...

Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is an oxidoreductase enzyme abundant in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In plants, PDIs have been shown to assist the folding and deposition of seed storage proteins during the biogenesis of protein bodies in the endosperm. Cloning and characterization of the complete set of genes encoding PDI and PDI like proteins in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese...