Rudolf Appels

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.

Narrow-leafed lupin (NLL) is one of the major legume crops in Australian farming system which is largely used as animal feed. A number of modern cultivars have been developed through breeding making NLL possible to be consumed as human food. Significant health benefits have been recognised when NLL seeds are consumed. This study characterised protein polymorphism among the 25 Australian cultivars through mass spectrometric (MALDI-TOF) with the aim of developing molecular breeding strategies to improve protein quality and content. Altogether, 364 seed storage proteins were identified by the MALDI-TOF profiling and fifty proteins were cultivar specific. Nine common proteins (present in all cultivars) and 61 rare proteins (present in 2–3 cultivars only) were recorded. Phylogenic analysis based on the protein profile clustered the cultivars into 2 major groups and 5 subgroups which are generally supported by the pedigree information. Small number (2.4%) of common proteins among the cultivars suggested a high level of genetic diversity in seed storage protein of NLL.

A novel analytical approach was used to identify associations between NIR spectral fingerprints and segments of chromosomes indicating that genetic factors contribute to variation in NIR spectra. The basis for identifying the genetic factors was the process of removing environmental and experimental variability from the spectra using spatial mixed models. These corrected spectra were combined with the analysis of wheat lines from a genetically structured population derived from a Carnamah by WAWHT2046 doubled haploid (DH) set of F1 progeny. The association of chromosome segments with variations in particular wavelengths in the NIR spectra was established using all-subset regression and canonical correlation methodology.

Most of the crop variety information from breeding organisations promotes the positive aspects of varieties included, rather than a grower specific view. The grower needs to take into account across all the new varieties improved germplasm traits when making cropping decisions. Data mining techniques offer opportunities for summarising diverse data into a coherent format which is understandable by growers. Data mining offers opportunities to improve the process of identifying and recommending new varieties as it can facilitate the analysis of multiple information sources. Data mining can provide both the crop breeder and grower with a more translucent view of the general trends in the performance and other plant traits of new varieties.