Good grain characteristics during drought are highly important in the
development of abiotic stress tolerant wheat. The SUT group of genes is
known to play a role in the mobilization of sugars to the grain.

In a study by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia, these SUTs
are characterized in terms of gene expression by sampling for plant's stem,
leaf sheath, rachis, lemma, and developing grain before owering and grain
maturity in two drought tolerant wheat varieties, namely, Westonia and Kauz.
They determine the plants' grain weight, thousand grain weight, kernel
number per spike, biomass, and stem water-soluble carbohydrate and analyze
the correlation of these traits with the SUT gene expression. Results showed
high expression of TaSUT1 in all sampled organs, especially in the grain.
TaSUT1 high expression is correlated with high grain yield in Kauz and with
thousand grain weight in Westonia.



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