Cloning and mode of action of the major interspecific crossability locus (Kr1) in wheat

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The genetic diversity available to breeders within wheat is very limited compared to that available within cultivated and wild relatives of wheat. However a number of barriers need to be overcome in order to have access to the full range of diversity within the wild relatives and to exploit this by introducing desirable genes from this exotic germplasm. The first barrier can be the failure of pollen from wild species to fertilise the wheat ovary. Although wheat can be crossed with a wide range of related species, most adapted wheat varieties are incompatible because of the failure of pollen to fertilize the ovary, thus greatly restricting the germplasm that can be used for alien introgression in wheat breeding. The biological basis for the failure of pollen from wild relatives to penetrate the wheat style and ovary remains to be elucidated. This present proposal addresses this issue. This will open up a new area of biology for cereals and grasses