Knowledge of the genetic diversity (allelic) contained in wild species and populations is also an aspect of great interest in relation to its possible use in breeding programs. In this sense, the MGP group has carried out genetic and variability studies in species of the genus Aegilops (Giraldo et al, 2015) and in the model grass plant Brachypodium distachyon (Giraldo et al, 2012). Of the latter, it has its own collection of wild populations collected throughout the Iberian Peninsula that is being used by different national and international research groups (Benavente et al, 2013; López-Alvarez et al, 2015).
One of the main challenges of cereal production worldwide is to achieve crop varieties adapted to unfavorable climatic conditions and that contribute to a more sustainable agriculture, this is where the great genetic diversity of Spanish wheat, much higher than that of other varieties coming from other parts of the world, can play a very important role. Currently, the most cultivated varieties of wheat come mostly from CIMMYT material, so they present a narrow genetic variability and are not related to the local Spanish material. It would be of great interest if there were varieties on the market derived from autochthonous Spanish germplasm that would have the advantage of having greater genetic variability, disease resistance genes (which today constitute the main problem of cultivation) and better adaptation to the Spanish agro-climatic conditions .
The MGP Group, in close collaboration with the Plant Genetic Resources Center (CRF-INIA), and the collaboration of IRTA and ITACyL, has participated in the morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization of the CRF wheat plant genetic resources collection. This is a collection of fundamentally indigenous cultivars, which also includes material from other related species and foreign material in order to represent the maximum genetic variability of the crop. The result of this exhaustive characterization has been the creation of the Spanish Nuclear Collection of durum wheat, and the Spanish Nuclear Collection of common wheat, formed by 200 accessions each one that represent the genetic variability present in the complete collection (Ruiz et al, 2012, 2013; Pascual et al, 2020). This collection is essential information to promote the use of Spanish germplasm in Breeding Programs.
The use of local varieties in improvement programs requires an exhaustive prior genetic characterization that validates the potential of this germplasm. The MGP group, in collaboration with the CRF and CIMMYT, has worked on the in-depth characterization at the genomic level of this material using massive sequencing techniques. The study has revealed the great value of local Spanish wheat varieties as a usable plant genetic resource for the development of new varieties and as a scientific-technical resource for the search for new alleles related to characters of interest (Pascual et al. 2020). .
Funded projects related to this line of research:
Genomic tools and identification of germplasm of interest for improving quality and resistance in wheat. Ministry of Science and Innovation. State R&D Program Oriented to the Challenges of Society (PID2019-109089RB-C32). 2020-2023
Characterization of local Spanish wheat varieties, identification of molecular markers associated with agronomic characters and selection of germplasm for pre-breeding. Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2016-77149-C2-1-P). 2016-2019.
Collection of Aegilops sppp accessions in various Spanish regions for their multiplication and characterization together with those currently conserved in the CRF-INIA. RF2011-00018-C04-04. 2011-2014.
Characterization of genetic variability in Spanish populations of Brachypodium distachyon. CCG10-UPM/GEN-4980. Co-financed aid between the Community of Madrid and recognized research groups for the consolidation of research groups. 2011.
Creation of the nuclear Spanish collection of durum wheat. MEC and INIA. 2007-2009.
