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Crop and Pasture Science Crop and Pasture Science Society
Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Molecular characterisation of the NAM-1 genes in bread wheat in Australia

Rongchang Yang A , Angela Juhasz A , Yujuan Zhang A , Xueyan Chen A , Yinjun Zhang A , Maoyun She A , Jingjuan Zhang A , Rowan Maddern A , Ian Edwards B , Dean Diepeveen A , Shahidul Islam A and Wujun Ma A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australia China Centre for Wheat Improvement, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.

B Edstar Genetics, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: W.Ma@murdoch.edu.au

Crop and Pasture Science 69(12) 1173-1181 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP18273
Submitted: 13 June 2018  Accepted: 4 October 2018   Published: 13 December 2018

Abstract

The wheat NAM-B1 and NAM-A1 genes are positively associated with grain protein content (GPC) in wheat. We conducted molecular characterisation of the NAM-1 genes in 51 Australian wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.), with the aim of improving GPC and nitrogen-usage efficiency in Australian wheat. In summary, the wild type NAM-B1 gene, which originated from Israel, was identified in two Australian wheat varieties. Five varieties contained a deletion allele, whereas the majority (43) harboured a non-functional NAM-B1 allele and one variety contained both functional and non-functional alleles. Twenty-six Australian wheat varieties contained the NAM-A1a haplotype, which was similar to its well-characterised homoeolog NAM-B1 wild type and associated with high GPC. The NAM-D1 gene in the 51 wheat varieties was also characterised, and no gene variation in the exon regions was noted; only two single-nucleotide polymorphisms in introns 1 and 2 were found among the 51 varieties.

Additional keywords: NAM gene alleles, nitrogen use efficiency, senescence, SNP, wheat protein efficiency.


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