Interspecific Polymorphism of DEP1 Genes and the Spike Shape in Wheats

Abstract

In the present study, we performed an analysis of DEP1 gene sequences in ten accessions of Triticum macha Decapr. et Menabde, T. antiquorum Heer ex Udacz., T. sphaerococcum Perciv., mutants of common and durum wheat, and one semicompactoid accession of the D genome donor for common wheat Aegilops tauschii Coss. The comparative analysis showed that all studied accessions, except for the near isogenic line Cp-M808(Vrn1), possess one allelic variant of each of the Dep1-A, Dep1-B, and Dep1-D genes. The sequences of the Dep1-A, Dep1-B, and Dep1-D obtained for the wheat accessions and mutants of common and bread wheat are identical to the previously described alleles. Near isogenic lines Cp-M808(Vrn1) and cp-M808(Vrn1) represent the exceptions. We described four new allelic variants for i: Cp-M808(Vrn1) (Dep1-Aа, Dep1-Bb, Dep1-Da, and Dep1-Db) and two new alleles for i: сp-M808(Vrn1) (Dep1-Ba and Dep1-Dc). Thus, accession-specific mutations were detected in DEP1 genes of studied wheat accessions; however, alleles that correlate with a specific spike morphology in wheat were not detected. A new Dep1-Dd allele was identified for a unique semicompactoid accession of Ae. tauschii KT-120-16. This allele differs from the Dep1-D allele of spelt accessions of Ae. tauschii in the presence of several deletions in 5'-UTR. These deletions could affect the expression of the Dep1-Dd gene and thus determine the formation of a compact spike in Ae. tauschii KT-120-16.