Frequency of the high-molecular-weight glutenin allele in Asian hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and the transmission route through which the wheat may have reached Japan, the most geographically remote region of wheat production in the world.
The frequency of the Glu-D1f allele in Japanese, Chinese, and other Asian hexaploid wheat varieties was analyzed in order to investigate a possible transmission route for hexaploid wheat to the Far East, Japan. The 1380 published data sets were compared to the results for 1107 hexaploid Asian wheat varieties which were determined in this study. The frequency of the Glu-D1f allele was clearly different between areas; the allele was present from northern and southern Japan, from Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Beijing in China, and from Afghanistan. A high frequency of the high-molecular-weight glutenin Glu-D1f allele was found predominantly in southern Japan. This distribution of an adaptively neutral character suggests a specific route of transmission for hexaploid wheat to eastern China and the Far East, Japan. It was introduced from Afghanistan, carried to Xinjiang (in northwest China), Jiangsu, and Zhejiang (in southeast China), and then to southern Japan along the so-called Silk Road. It is believed that cultivated hexaploid wheat originated in the Middle East and the Near East and was carried along the Silk Road through China to the Far East, Japan. Japan is the most geographically remote region of wheat production in the world. During the course of its long journey and its adaptation to diverse local environments, Japanese hexaploid wheat has developed a unique composition of glutenin Glu-D1 alleles. The frequency of this allele in different wheat varieties allowed us to hypothesize a possible route for the transmission of hexaploid wheat into the Far East, Japan.
Nakamura
Hiro
H
National Agricultural Research Center for Tohoku Region, Morioka, Iwate 020-0198, Japan.
D000383:Agriculture; D000483:Alleles; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005983:Glutens / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000235:genetics*; D007564:Japan; D008970:Molecular Weight; D014186:Transportation; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics*
D005983:Glutens; C037302:glutenin