Evaluation and Validation of Four Molecular Markers Associated with Pre-harvest Sprouting Tolerance in Chinese Wheat

Four preharvest sprouting (PHS) tolerance-associated markers MST101, wmc104, Xgwm155, and Vp1B3, were used to screen 95 Chinese landraces and historical varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and aimed at assessing the efficiency of these markers in selecting genotypes with higher PHS tolerance. Among the 95 genotypes tested, 57, 19, and 19 accessions had germination indexes (GI) of less than 30%, 30–60%, and over 60%, respectively. The relationships between the variation of the PCR products of the 4 markers and germination indexes of the tested materials were analyzed. Variations at Vp1B3 and Xgwm155 were associated with PHS response, but the sequence-tagged site (STS) marker MST101 and sequence-tagged microsatellite site (STMS) marker wmc104 were not. Vp1B3 was more effective than Xgwm155 for selecting PHS resistant varieties. The selection efficiency will be improved if both markers are used.