Genetics and Breeding of Wheat Crops

Wheat is a staple food cultivated for its cereal grain. Wheat plants show remarkable genetic variation. Some species of wheat are diploid, but many are polyploids, with four or six pairs of chromosomes. Certain wheat genes have a positive influence on crop yields, such as the dwarfing genes that allow the carbon fixed during photosynthesis to be diverted towards seed production and prevent lodging. The sequencing of the wheat genome and its analysis is valuable for developing an understandi...