The practical value of frost-tolerance markers in winter durum wheat breeding
- 1All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology
- 2P. P. Lukyanenko National Grain Center
Abstract
Frost tolerance limits the expansion of winter durum wheat ( Triticum durum ) into continental zones. Its control is attributed mainly to chromosome 5A loci, Fr-A2 [the CBF cluster: CBF-A14 copy number variation (CNV) and a non-CNV component], and Fr-A1 / VRN-A1 . We assessed candidate KASP (kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction) markers in the Russian winter durum wheat gene pool (161 accessions) and in a segregating F ₂ panel from crosses with foreign frost-susceptible lines. Frost tolerance was measured as the percentage of plants surviving a controlled freezing test. In the collection, the favorable Fr-A2 class is nearly fixed at all four markers of the CBF-A14 copy-number haplotype [minor allele frequency (MAF), 0.04 to 0.08]. Minor-class lines survive at 7.3% to 13.5% against 43.7% to 45.4%, but only 2 of the 15 come from the Krasnodar program, a contrast confounded with origin. The frequency of the favorable class rose from 0.60 to 0.87 among accessions entered into State Variety Trials before 2000 to 0.95 to 1.00 after 2010. The non-CNV component S1051014 is polymorphic and not associated with the trait ( p = 0.442). In the F ₂ panel, the dose of the adapted-parent allele among survivors rose from 1.510 to 1.750 at S2269949 (within-family randomization test, one-sided p = 0.005, two-sided p = 0.010) and from 1.752 to 1.958 at S1077313 ( p = 0.038 and 0.076). Of three polymorphic independent non- Fr loci, 7B (Mor866) showed no effect, whereas 1B (Mor587, allele T) and 5B (Mor534, allele G) showed a nominal effect of the same direction, approximately 7 to 8 percentage points ( p = 0.048 and 0.052); the long-vernalization VRN-A1 allele was associated with higher survival ( p = 0.019). These markers, untested in segregating material, are presented as candidates. Later heading accompanied higher survival (+0.0142 per day on the angular scale, p = 0.0004, n = 155), largely a between-program contrast. The Fr-A2 markers are the most valuable when external frost-susceptible material is used. With Fr-A2 fixed, the choice of marker follows from the crossing plan rather than from the published effect size.
Related
- A winter wheat genome-wide association study identifies a large effect Fusarium head blight resistance haplotype using diverse lines from US breeding programs
- Genotype-specific antioxidant, reactive-carbonyl, and polyamine responses underlying heat tolerance in six winter wheat cultivars
- Cold Tolerance in Alfalfa: Physiological Mechanisms, Regulatory Networks, and Molecular Breeding Prospects.
- The usefulness of triploid sib records for selection of diploid candidates in rainbow trout breeding programs for growth, processing traits and hypoxia tolerance
- Genetic diversity and population structure of marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) pre-breeding lines revealed by morphological traits and microsatellite markers
BibTeX
@article{divashuk2026practical,
title = {{The practical value of frost-tolerance markers in winter durum wheat breeding}},
author = {Mikhail G. Divashuk and Aleksey S. Yanovsky and Varvara A. Gorskaia and Alexandra A. Mudrova and Maria S. Esina and Ludmila A. Bespalova and Viktoria S. Voronezhskaya and Mikhail G. Monakhos and Anastasiya D. Voropaeva and Anastasiya G. Chernook and Andrey V. Arkhipov and Daniil S. Ulyanov and Gennady I. Karlov},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1959465},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1959465/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The practical value of frost-tolerance markers in winter durum wheat breeding
AU - Mikhail G. Divashuk
AU - Aleksey S. Yanovsky
AU - Varvara A. Gorskaia
AU - Alexandra A. Mudrova
AU - Maria S. Esina
AU - Ludmila A. Bespalova
AU - Viktoria S. Voronezhskaya
AU - Mikhail G. Monakhos
AU - Anastasiya D. Voropaeva
AU - Anastasiya G. Chernook
AU - Andrey V. Arkhipov
AU - Daniil S. Ulyanov
AU - Gennady I. Karlov
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1959465
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1959465/full
AB - Frost tolerance limits the expansion of winter durum wheat ( Triticum durum ) into continental zones. Its control is attributed mainly to chromosome 5A loci, Fr-A2 [the CBF cluster: CBF-A14 copy number variation (CNV) and a non-CNV component], and Fr-A1 / VRN-A1 . We assessed candidate KASP (kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction) markers in the Russian winter durum wheat gene pool (161 accessions) and in a segregating F ₂ panel from crosses with foreign frost-susceptible lines. Frost tolerance was measured as the percentage of plants surviving a controlled freezing test. In the collection, the favorable Fr-A2 class is nearly fixed at all four markers of the CBF-A14 copy-number haplotype [minor allele frequency (MAF), 0.04 to 0.08]. Minor-class lines survive at 7.3% to 13.5% against 43.7% to 45.4%, but only 2 of the 15 come from the Krasnodar program, a contrast confounded with origin. The frequency of the favorable class rose from 0.60 to 0.87 among accessions entered into State Variety Trials before 2000 to 0.95 to 1.00 after 2010. The non-CNV component S1051014 is polymorphic and not associated with the trait ( p = 0.442). In the F ₂ panel, the dose of the adapted-parent allele among survivors rose from 1.510 to 1.750 at S2269949 (within-family randomization test, one-sided p = 0.005, two-sided p = 0.010) and from 1.752 to 1.958 at S1077313 ( p = 0.038 and 0.076). Of three polymorphic independent non- Fr loci, 7B (Mor866) showed no effect, whereas 1B (Mor587, allele T) and 5B (Mor534, allele G) showed a nominal effect of the same direction, approximately 7 to 8 percentage points ( p = 0.048 and 0.052); the long-vernalization VRN-A1 allele was associated with higher survival ( p = 0.019). These markers, untested in segregating material, are presented as candidates. Later heading accompanied higher survival (+0.0142 per day on the angular scale, p = 0.0004, n = 155), largely a between-program contrast. The Fr-A2 markers are the most valuable when external frost-susceptible material is used. With Fr-A2 fixed, the choice of marker follows from the crossing plan rather than from the published effect size.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -