Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis in wheat. II. Linkage maps of the RFLP sites in common wheat

Abstract

Sixty-six F2 plants from the cross, Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Spring (abbrev. CS) x T. spelta var. duhamelianum (Spelta), exhibiting the greatest number of RFLPs among eight common wheats, were analyzed for their RFLP genotypes using genomic DNA clones of CS as probes. In total, 204 RFLP loci were identified and their linkage relationships established. By nulli-tetrasomic analyses, all linkage groups were assigned to one another of the 21 wheat chromosomes. In addition, the carrier chromosomes of 228 non-RFLP loci were identified. The linkage maps of these RFLP loci have a total size of 1800 cM and exceed those of the classical genes in both size and locus number. Twenty loci show distorted segregation, four of which are clustered on chromosome 4A and three on the 2D chromosome. The CS alleles on 4A exhibit preferential transmission, while those on 2D exhibit depressed transmission, compared with Spelta alleles. This suggests the influence of gametic factors in those regions. RFLP loci are much fewer in the D genome than in the A and B genomes, but the numbers of non-RFLP loci are nearly the same in these three genomes. This suggests that Spelta wheat originated from a hybridization between T. dicoccum (spelt emmer) and T. aestivum.