Research Projects

Indian dwarf wheat (Triticum sphaerococcum Percival), is a landrace, which is indigenous to western India and southern Pakistan, and has been farmed since the Bronze Age. For thousands of years, the Indian dwarf wheat has nurtured and supported the Indian culture. However, it was forgotten about in the early 20th century, especially after the Green Revolution introduced contemporary wheat varieties to India that had higher yields and were much needed to feed the growing population. This species is a good donor for abiotic stress tolerance since it is known for its drought tolerance, enhanced phosphate uptake, and improved nitrogen accumulation in grains. In comparison to bread wheat, it has more protein, iron, and zinc content. Abiotic stresses (heat and moisture stress), as well as grain Fe, Zn, and protein content, are quantitative traits that are governed by a complex genetic system and strongly influenced by environmental factors. A better knowledge of the genetics underlying these traits can be attained by the multi-environment screening of Indian dwarf wheat genotypes and the integration of genomics approaches such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS). At IARI, we have genotyped 116 accessions of T. sphaerococcum and more than 20 recently released bread wheat varieties by 35 K Axiom™ Wheat Breeder's Genotyping SNP array. This will serve as an important genetic resource for the comparative study of T. sphaerococcum and T. aestivum for their abiotic stress tolerance and nutritional quality traits across the environments. Through this project information on the QTLs pertaining to the traits specific in abiotic stress tolerance (heat and moisture stress) and nutritional grain quality traits in T. sphaerococcum will be known and candidate genes could be explored for understanding their functions. This project will enable us to find T. sphaerococcum accession(s) having best nutritional grain quality that can be utilized in the breeding program or will be registered as specialty trait genetic stock. Also, major effect QTLs identified from T. sphaerococcum will be utilized in marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS). Being an important genetic resource and a heritage species form India, we need to tap into the untapped potential of this species and its ramifications for agriculture—particularly in light of the phenomenon of climate change. This would be the first report of GWS studies in T. sphaerococcum. If the project is approved, novel information related to QTLs of heat and drought tolerance and nutritional traits form this species is anticipated.