Harnessing genetic variation for grain quality from diverse wheat landraces
7 affiliations
- 1School of Biosciences University of Nottingham Sutton Bonington LE12 5RD UK
- 2School of Agriculture, Food and Wine Adelaide University Glen Osmond SA 5064 Australia
- 3John Innes Centre Norwich Research Park Norwich NR4 7UH UK
- 4Campden BRI Chipping Campden GL55 6LD UK
- 5Rothamsted Research Harpenden AL5 2JQ UK
- 6School of Biological Sciences Adelaide University Adelaide SA 5005 Australia
- 7DSV UK Ltd Top Dawkins Barn Wardington OX17 1FE UK
Abstract
The grain quality traits of protein content, grain weight and size are socially and economically important for wheat (Triticum aestivum) breeding. Modern wheat germplasm has limited genetic variation for vital traits, including grain quality, underscoring the need to investigate ancestral varieties/landraces for beneficial allelic diversity.
Here, we develop a reliable and sensitive single‐seed hyperspectral imaging‐based phenotyping platform to quantify grain protein, weight and size in 827 diverse wheat landraces, achieving improved predictive accuracy (R 2 = 0.91) vs previous methods. We identified novel genetic variants (or loci) for grain protein content and its heterogeneity between individual grains in a genotype, and grain weight, and validated them through bi‐parental linkage mapping.
Many loci we report are rare and absent from modern breeding germplasm. Beneficial haplotypes at these loci improved mean protein content and homogeneity without compromising grain weight; these haplotypes represent valuable genetic variation for agriculture. We identify a stable locus on chromosome 6A contributing to protein heterogeneity within single grains, suggesting homogeneity in protein content could be a selectable trait for breeding.
Our findings demonstrate how integration of advanced phenotyping into breeding strategies can harness untapped genetic diversity for grain quality improvement in wheat, providing an opportunity to enhance grain nutritional value.
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BibTeX
@article{safdar2026harnessing,
title = {{Harnessing genetic variation for grain quality from diverse wheat landraces}},
author = {Luqman B. Safdar and M. John Foulkes and Alix Cornish and Elizabeth D. Goodman and Andrew B. Riche and David Steele and Charlie Philp and Shiva Rahimitanha and Martin Whitworth and Iain R. Searle and Matt Kerton and Malcolm J. Hawkesford and Simon Griffiths and Rahul A. Bhosale and Scott A. Boden and Ian D. Fisk},
journal = {The New Phytologist},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/nph.71628},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.71628},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Harnessing genetic variation for grain quality from diverse wheat landraces
AU - Luqman B. Safdar
AU - M. John Foulkes
AU - Alix Cornish
AU - Elizabeth D. Goodman
AU - Andrew B. Riche
AU - David Steele
AU - Charlie Philp
AU - Shiva Rahimitanha
AU - Martin Whitworth
AU - Iain R. Searle
AU - Matt Kerton
AU - Malcolm J. Hawkesford
AU - Simon Griffiths
AU - Rahul A. Bhosale
AU - Scott A. Boden
AU - Ian D. Fisk
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - The New Phytologist
DO - 10.1111/nph.71628
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.71628
AB - The grain quality traits of protein content, grain weight and size are socially and economically important for wheat (Triticum aestivum) breeding. Modern wheat germplasm has limited genetic variation for vital traits, including grain quality, underscoring the need to investigate ancestral varieties/landraces for beneficial allelic diversity. Here, we develop a reliable and sensitive single‐seed hyperspectral imaging‐based phenotyping platform to quantify grain protein, weight and size in 827 diverse wheat landraces, achieving improved predictive accuracy (R 2 = 0.91) vs previous methods. We identified novel genetic variants (or loci) for grain protein content and its heterogeneity between individual grains in a genotype, and grain weight, and validated them through bi‐parental linkage mapping. Many loci we report are rare and absent from modern breeding germplasm. Beneficial haplotypes at these loci improved mean protein content and homogeneity without compromising grain weight; these haplotypes represent valuable genetic variation for agriculture. We identify a stable locus on chromosome 6A contributing to protein heterogeneity within single grains, suggesting homogeneity in protein content could be a selectable trait for breeding. Our findings demonstrate how integration of advanced phenotyping into breeding strategies can harness untapped genetic diversity for grain quality improvement in wheat, providing an opportunity to enhance grain nutritional value.
SN - 0028-646X
SN - 1469-8137
ER -