Enhancing wheat yield potential through the QTL QFFE.perg-5A and QFEm.perg-3A associated to spike fruiting efficiency: Insights from plot-level analysis

Abstract

Context or Problem: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a key global crop essential for food security. Enhancing wheat productivity is crucial to meet growing food demands. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) such as QFFE.perg-5A and QFEm.perg-3A have been previously linked to fruiting efficiency at the spike level, but their effects on plot-level yield components remain unexplored. Objective or Research Question: This study aimed to assess the influence of QFEm.perg-3A and QFFE.perg-5A on the ecophysiological and numerical components determining wheat potential yield and associated traits, at the plot level. Methods: A double haploid population consisting of 102 lines was evaluated across three environments to determine the effect of QFFE.perg-5A and QFEm.perg-3A at the plot level. Key yield components, including spike dry weight, grain number per spike, and grain number per unit area, were analyzed to identify interactions between QTL and QTL*environment. Additionally, the prevalence of favorable alleles in 123 commercial wheat varieties from Argentina and Uruguay was assessed. Results: The study revealed an epistatic interaction between QTL only for spike dry weight and grain number per spike. QFFE.perg-5A showed a consistent positive effect across environments, enhancing fruiting efficiency by 13–15 %, increasing grain number per spike by 7 % and spike number per unit area by 9 %. These changes led to an 8 % increase in grain number per unit area and a 5 % overall yield increase. In contrast, the effects of QFEm. perg-3A were significantly influenced by the environment. Analysis of commercial varieties showed that the favorable allele of QFFE.perg-5A was present in only 24 % of cultivars, highlighting its underutilization in breeding programs. Conclusions: The study established a link between QTL associated with spike fruiting efficiency and their impact at the plot level, confirming that QFFE.perg-5A significantly enhances yield-related traits and overall productivity. The presence of QFEm.perg-3A’s environmental interaction suggests it could be utilized selectively depending on growing conditions. Implications or Significance: This research demonstrated the potential of incorporating QFFE.perg-5A into wheat breeding programs to enhance yield productivity. The underrepresentation of this QTL in current commercial cultivars highlights an opportunity for targeted breeding strategies to increase wheat yields.