Origin of black glume color in the Triticum aestivum lines with introgressions from wheat wild relatives
ABSTRACT Dark color of a glume in Triticinae is a known morphological marker with studied genetic control. However, the pigments that provide the color development, molecular basis of their biosynthesis, and mechanisms of its regulation are still unknown. Dark color of glumes is a common trait in the Triticum aestivum lines with alien introgressions. To find out the basis of this trait, we studied nature of the compounds that color the glumes by analyzing the total phenolic content (TPC) in the dark glumed introgression lines (ILs) and comparing it to their parents. TPC in the dark ILs was found to be higher than in their parents and in the light lines. All studied genotypes were screened for the expression of eight genes encoding the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway enzymes. Expression of three flavonoid genes in the pathway were changed in the ILs compared to their parents. Firstly, the expression of F3’H and FNS was absent in the lines with introgressions from Aegilops spp. The expression of three genes, F3’H, FLS, and FNS, was found to be altered in the light lines with introgressions from A. muticum. No expression of the F3’H was detected in the T. aestivum / A. muticum lines with light and dark plants, and the other genes of the pathway were found to be expressed at the parental levels. No correlation between the expression profiles and the phenotype was found in the T. aestivum / A. muticum lines. So we hypothesized that other undetected changes are present in these lines.