Plant & Animal Genomes XIII Conference Plant & Animal Genomes XIII ConferenceJanuary 15-19, 2005
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Jeffrey M. Leonard , Jason L. Nunes , M. Isabel Vales , Oscar Riera-Lizarazu
Despite the large genome and polyploid nature of wheat, molecular genetics is rapidly advancing in part due to availability of community resources including numerous BAC and cDNA libraries, large numbers of EST’s, and increasingly dense genetic maps. However, lack of gene-specific mutant collections (analogous to T-DNA insertion libraries in Arabidopsis), is a significant impediment to demonstrating gene function in wheat. As a member of a consortium including research groups from North Dakota State University, Kansas State University, University of California-Davis, and the University of Arizona, we are creating a reverse-genetic resource in the diploid wheat Triticum monococcum. The immediate goals of this project are to generate 40,000 plant families carrying chemically-induced small deletions and to develop the bioinformatics resources to provide public access to this resource. To provide reliable estimates of gene coverage provided by the deletion stocks being generated, the efficacy of the mutagens 1,2:3,4-Diepoxybutane and 4,5’,8-Trimethylpsoralen are being evaluated in chemically treated Arabidopsis and T. monococcum. We are estimating the forward mutation rates by scoring embryo-lethal mutations in Arabidopsis and parallel experiments have been initiated in T. monococcum. The frequency of deletions detectable by the poison-primer PCR method, proposed for screening the T. monococcum mutant collection, is being assayed by screening individual M2 plants for deletions in repeated elements in both species.