The genes responsible for the wide range of freezing temperatures that
can be tolerated by different wheat varieties have been identified by a team
of U.S. and European scientists, led by a plant scientist at the University
of California, Davis.
The study results suggest that the genes that regulate frost-tolerance
are activated at milder temperatures (53-59 degrees F) in frost-tolerant
wheat varieties than in frost-susceptible varieties.

The findings, reported in the March issue of the journal Plant
Molecular Biology, are important for better understanding winter injury, a
major economic risk factor in producing wheat.

"It has been difficult for wheat breeders to develop more winter-hardy
varieties because frost tolerance in wheat is a complex trait that is
regulated by many genes," said Professor Jorge Dubcovsky, a wheat breeder
and geneticist.

"The identification of these genes will enable breeders to develop
hardier, more productive wheat varieties, which is of vital importance in
light of growing pressures to increase global food production," he said.

As the world's leading exporter of wheat, the United States annually
produces more than 50 million metric tons of wheat, which is used to make a
broad spectrum of food products ranging from breads to pastas.

This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture --
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, the Hungarian
Wheat Spike Consortia, the Hungarian National Research Fund, the National
Science Foundation Plant Genome Program and the Ohio Plant Biotechnology
Consortium.

The study is part of an ongoing research program by Dubcovsky and
colleagues to uncover the genetic basis of important wheat traits. More
information on this research is available at:
[www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu].