The Use of Monosomic Rye Addition Lines for Transferring Rye Chromatin into Bread Wheat

Abstract Hybrid plants with 21 pairs of wheat chromosomes and with a haploid rye genome were produced by backcrossing a primary octoploid triticale with its parental hexaploid wheat. Upon a second backcrossing or selfing, the rye chromosomes were eliminated rapidly. Added rye chromosomes, in varying numbers, affected the transmission rate of wheat chromosomes significantly. Loss of wheat chromosomes ranging from 0.06 to 0.35 per plant in different populations was observed. In these plants a remarkably high incidence of wheat/rye and rye/rye translocations occurred. Translocations were identified by using the C‐banding technique. Among 837 analyzed plants 64 wheat/rye and 256 rye/rye translocations were identified. In different generations of backcrossing or selfing the frequency of wheat/rye translocations varied between 4.23 % and 14.67 %. All 14 rye chromosome arms were involved in translocations but with different frequencies. BC 1 F 3 plants with homozygous wheat/rye translocations were isolated The results indicate that monosomic wheat/rye addition lines may be directly used as an effective means to transfer genetic material from rye into bread wheat.