Abstract

Two PCR-based assays were examined for tracing the presence of a Thinopyrum chromosome segment (Tc6 or Tc14) conferring barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) resistance in wheat breeding lines. The microsatellite gwm37 was used to assay the Thinopyrum chromosome segment or its wheat, Group 7, homoeologous segment, and was effective in characterising breeders material since heterozygous lines could be identified. A new set of primers derived from a Thinopyrum-specific DNA segment (csTiB1) provided a dominant marker that was readily scored by agarose gel electrophoresis. It was also demonstrated that the csTiB1 primers could be used to establish a solid phase PCR assay that avoided the requirement for gel electrophoresis and was amenable to use in a high-throughput, microtitre plate format. Depending on the number of DNA samples to be assayed, both primer pairs appear to have a place in breeding programs.