There are nearly 70 different varieties of wheat recommended for farming and suitable for bread, biscuits or for distilling. By improving wheat varieties, scientists hope to increase crops yields by engineering them to be more tolerant to disease, climate change, pests and other factors which currently affect harvests.

Co-author of the paper published in the journal Nature, Professor Neil Hall of University of Liverpool, said: "The raw data of the wheat genome is like having tens of billions of scrabble letters. You know which letters are present, and their quantities, but they need to be assembled on the board in the right sequence before you can spell out their order into genes.

"We've identified about 96,000 genes and placed them in an approximate order. This has made a strong foundation for both further refinement of the genome and for identifying useful genetic variation in genes that scientists and breeders can use for crop improvement."

The researchers created "genetic markers" from wheat varieties and compared them to ancestral grasses like rice and barley to see if desired traits were present. New varieties were then created through artificial selection for "precision breeding".

By altering the genetic code sequence of bread, wheat scientists will be able to modify the new varieties for specific characteristics, making them more resilient to guarantee good crop yields.

The raw data of the wheat genome is like having tens of billions of scrabble letters. Prof Neil Hall, Liverpool University

According to the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB), breeding aims to improve the quality, diversity and performance of agricultural and horticultural crops. It says none of the major food crops grown in Britain are native to this country.

Cereals, potatoes, root crops and oilseeds which make up our farmland have their origins in many different parts of the world which have been adapted through plant breeding, to thrive under UK growing conditions.

More than 680 million tonnes of wheat is processed globally each year. Scientists believe that as the world's population continues to grow, the demand for more wheat harvests will also rapidly rise and the need for sustainable farming will be greater than ever.

Professor Denis Murphy, head of the Life Sciences Research Unit at the University of Glamorgan, who was not involved in this research, said: "This is a landmark paper that outlines the genetic blueprint of one of the major global crops. Bread wheat provides a vital staple food to billions of people across the world and is found in products ranging from chapattis and pita breads to biscuits and western-style leavened (raised) bread.

Original post:
Genetic breakthrough could guarantee wheat supplies

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