Occurrence of three dwarfing Rht genes in German winter wheat varieties

Knopf, C. and Becker, H. and Ebmeyer, E. and Korzun, V. (2008) Occurrence of three dwarfing Rht genes in German winter wheat varieties. Cereal Research Communications, 36 (4). pp. 553-560. ISSN 0133-3720

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Abstract

Ninety percent of wheat varieties grown worldwide have a semi-dwarf phenotype controlled by three major genes Rht-B1 (formerly Rht1 ), Rht-D1 (formerly Rht2 ) and Rht8 . The objective of this study was to determine their frequency in modern wheat varieties grown in Germany. Ninety-five winter wheat varieties that were registered in Germany in 2004 were screened with PCR-based markers for Rht-B1 and Rht-D1 and with the microsatellite WMS261 for Rht8 . The Rht8 allele for plant height reduction was not found in any of the varieties, which confirms previous studies. Rht-B1b or Rht-D1b alleles were present in 44% of the screened varieties, but only 6% contained Rht-B1b , which predominates in northern Europe. Rht-D1b was found in 38% of the varieties, which were planted on 34% of the total area of wheat in Germany. Wheat varieties with Rht-D1b were shorter and higher yielding than wheat varieties without this allele, but more susceptible to Fusarium head blight, which could limit their productivity.

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