Information on the distribution of vernalization genes and their association with growth habit is crucial to understanding the adaptability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to different environments. In this study, 278 Chinese wheat cultivars were characterized with molecular markers for the vernalization genes Vrn-A1, -B1, -D1, and -B3 Heading time was evaluated in a greenhouse under long days without vernalizaton. The dominant Vrn-D1 allele showed the highest frequency in the Chinese wheat cultivars (37.8%), followed by the dominant Vrn-A1, -B1, and -B3 alleles. Ninety-two winter cultivars carried recessive alleles of all four vernalization loci, whereas 172 spring genotypes contained at least one dominant Vrn allele. All cultivars released in the North China Plain Winter Wheat Zone were winter type. Winter (53.0%), spring (36.1%), and early-heading (10.9%) cultivars were grown in the Yellow and Huai River Valley Winter Zone. Most of the spring genotypes from this zone carried only the dominant Vrn-D1 allele, which was also predominant (64.1%) in the Middle and Lower Yangtze Valley Winter Zone and Southwestern Winter Wheat Zone. In three spring-sown wheat zones, all cultivars were early-heading spring types that frequently possessed the strongest dominant Vrn-A1a allele and combinations with other dominant Vrn gene(s). The Vrn-D1 allele is associated with the latest heading time, Vrn-A1 the earliest, and Vrn-B1 intermediate values. The information is important for breeding programs in countries interested in using Chinese wheats.

Key message

Here, we provide an updated set of guidelines for naming genes in wheat that has been endorsed by the wheat research community. The last decade has seen a proliferation in genomic resources for wheat, including reference- and pan-genome assemblies with gene annotations, which provide new opportunities to detect, characterise, and describe genes that influence traits of interest. The expansion of genetic information has supported growth of the wheat research community and catalysed strong interest in the genes that control agronomically important traits, such as yield, pathogen resistance, grain quality, and abiotic stress tolerance. To accommodate these developments, we present an updated set of guidelines for gene nomenclature in wheat. These guidelines can be used to describe loci identified based on morphological or phenotypic features or to name genes based on sequence information, such as similarity to genes characterised in other species or the biochemical properties of the encoded protein. The updated guidelines provide a flexible system that is not overly prescriptive but provides structure and a common framework for naming genes in wheat, which may be extended to related cereal species. We propose these guidelines be used henceforth by the wheat research community to facilitate integration of data from independent studies and allow broader and more efficient use of text and data mining approaches, which will ultimately help further accelerate wheat research and breeding.