The Association of Grain Yield and Agronomical Traits with Genes of Plant Height, Photoperiod Sensitivity and Plastid Glutamine Synthetase in Winter Bread Wheat ( L.) Collection

The reduction in plant height caused by mutations in or genes in combination with day-length-independent early flowering associated with the gene were the main factors of the drastic yield increase in bread wheat in the 1960s. Increasing nitrogen use efficiency as well as maintaining high yields under conditions of global climate change are the modern goals of wheat breeding. The glutamine synthetase (GS) enzyme plays a key role in ammonium assimilation in plants. In previous studies, the gene, coding the plastid isoform of GS, was shown to be connected with nitrogen use efficiency in wheat. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers, the association of yield and agronomical traits with haplotypes of , , and genes was studied in a diverse collection of winter bread wheat cultivars grown in Krasnodar (Russia). In the three-year experiment, semidwarfism and photoperiod insensitivity were confirmed to be highly favorable for the grain yield. The haplotype had a tendency for increased grain yield and lodging resistance, but mainly in plants not possessing the 'green revolution' alleles. Thus, may have potential in breeding wheat cultivars with alternative dwarfing genes or tall cultivars, which may be optimal for growing under certain environments.