Embryo lethality in wheat × rye hybrids—mode of inheritance and the identification of a complementary gene in wheat

• DOI: 10.1007/s10681-010-0202-3
• Publication Date: 2010-06-09T23:21:44Z
• Authors: N. Tikhenko; N. Tsvetkova; A. Voylokov; O. Dobrovolskaya; K. Zaynali Nezhad; M. S. Röder; A. Börner
• Keywords: Inheritance; Common wheat; Gene pool

Crosses between hexaploid wheat and rye can only succeed when pre- and post-zygotic barriers have been overcome. A rye gene determining embryo lethality (Eml-R1), which is involved in post-zygotic isolation, has been mapped to chromosome 6R. In the present paper the mode of inheritance of Eml-R1 was studied by employing a wheat/rye chromosome 6R addition line. We show that Eml-R1 exists in at least two alternative forms, with the mutant allele Eml-R1b being dominant with respect to wild-type Eml-R1a. Furthermore, we have exploited nulli-tetrasomic lines of wheat to detect a complementary wheat gene present on chromosome 6A. This gene has been designated Eml-A1.