Jingjuan Zhang

The measurement of the timing, and anatomical features, of spike development in lines from a segregating doubled haploid population derived from a cross between the wheat varieties Westonia x Kauz, has defined a controlling region on chromosome 5B. The region accounted for significant variation in the time to booting, head emergence and floret and spikelet number. Analysis of the gene complement of the region indicated that a Vrn gene was present as well as several genes coding for enzymes that are central to the starch-sugar metabolomic pathway. The observations are discussed in terms of the concepts that argue for the importance of sugars in spike development.