Maria V. Solovyova

Background. Higher yields and better quality of spring bread wheat grain remains the main focus for wheat breeders in their efforts to ensure national food security. Therefore, searching for new sources to fulfill this mission is an important task. Materials and methods. The research material included 180 accessions of spring bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grown in 2022–2023 in Omsk Province. Various indicators for technological assessment and grain quality testing were analyzed at the VIR Laboratory of Integrated Plant Genetic Resources Evaluation. The resulting data underwent variance and correlation analyses. Results and conclusion. Considering the climate in Omsk Province, where severe droughts alternate with excessive moisture periods during the growing season of spring bread wheat and the phases of grain filling and ripening, a number of farinograph indicators and the sedimentation index have the best differentiating ability among the protein complex quality characters, so they should be used in breeding for grain quality. It is also necessary to monitor the state of the carbohydrate-amylase complex, at least at the level of recording the falling number, as well as other technological properties, for example, though the registration of the grain test weight. Accessions with the best values of the grain test weight and sedimentation were identified. They can be recommended for breeders as sources of valuable agronomic traits in Omsk Province.

The range of methods for assessing the quality of grain and its technological properties in cereal crops, of oat in particular, is extremely limited. The available methods are labor-intensive and not always sufficiently informative. The variety of modern processing methods dictates the necessity in searching for more universal and informative assessment methods. Cereal crop breeding also requires high-speed and low-cost methods for assessing grain quality. The present work is a methodological study that uses a limited set oat accessions from the genetic collection of VIR, differing by geographical origin and contrasting technological properties, with an aim of developing a new grain quality assessment method and testing new methods for analyzing technological properties. The resulting criteria are compared with each other and with more traditional indicators. New systems for assessing the technological properties of grain of naked and covered oat have been proposed. A new method of sedimentation analysis for cereal crops is proposed. The diversity of the oat protein complex is exemplified in the results of sedimentation analysis, and of the carbohydrate complex – in the results of its testing by a micro-visco-amylograph. The variety of interactions between oat grain storage substances and wheat material during joint processing is shown by assessing the rheological properties of the dough mixture using a farinograph. The obtained results can be recommended for the assessment for breeding purposes, as well as for obtaining complete information about the quality of oat grain for the purpose of its further processing.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are among the genetic tools for the mining of genomic loci associated with useful agronomic traits. The study enabled us to find new genetic markers associated with grain yield as well as quality. The sample under study consisted of spring wheat cultivars developed in different decades of the last century. A panel of 186 accessions was evaluated at VIR’s experiment station in Pushkin across a 3-year period of field trials. In total, 24 SNPs associated with six productivity characteristics were revealed. Along with detecting significant markers for each year of the field study, meta-analyses were conducted. Loci associated with useful yield-related agronomic characteristics were detected on chromosomes 4A, 5A, 6A, 6B, and 7B. In addition to previously described regions, novel loci associated with grain yield and quality were identified during the study. We presume that the utilization of contrast cultivars which originated in different breeding periods allowed us to identify new markers associated with useful agronomic characteristics.

Climate change, growing world population and increasing food demand require higher yields and adaptability of crops, including spring bread wheat. Modern plant breeding based on achievements of genetics has a significant impact on plant resistance to diseases, climate variability and other factors. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) is one of genetics tools for mining of genome loci associated with economically important traits. In the current study, we applied GWAS to reveal QTL for spike productivity and grain quality using a panel of spring varieties of Triticum aestivum L. bred in different decades of the last century in Russia and Germany. The study has enabled to find new genetic markers associated with grain yield and quality. Studying genetic basis of grain yield and quality by comparison of wheat varieties from different breeding periods, including landraces preserved as the source of valuable genetic diversity for breeding and genetic studies, makes it possible not only to understand selection processes in the past, but also to develop strategies for future breeding work.