The objectives of the project are:
1) to document genotype by environment interactions for wheat yield in Sichuan province so that effective yield improvement strategies can be developed;
2) to identify markers for noodle quality suitable for the Chinese market;
3) to determine the pathotype population structure for the stripe rust pathogen in Sichuan and to identify sources of durable disease resistance;
4) to locate molecular markers for sprouting resistance;
5) to locate molecular markers for intermittent reproductive sterility;
6) to train and equip Sichuan wheat breeders in modern breeding biotechnologies.

Collaborating Institutions
Dept Biological & Physical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Southern Queensland.
Leslie Research Centre, Farming Systems Institute, Qld Dept Primary Industries.
Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney.
School of Land & Food, University of Queensland.
Crop Sciences Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The project proposal was put together by Dr Brennan, (Leslie Research Centre, QDPI) in collaboration with Prof Zou Yuchun of the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu City. Just prior to the commencement of the project, Dr Brennan left the QDPI to take up another position and co-odination of the project passed to A/Prof Mark Sutherland, University of Southern Queensland, already a collaborator on the project.

Progress summary
We have obtained Chinese germplasm exhibiting a range of resistances and quality attributes, for crossing with elite Australian varieties. Evaluation of parental material is currently being completed. Doubled-haploid populations derived from these crosses will be analysed to identify molecular markers linked to genes that confer variation for desirable traits. International differential sets of lines near-isogenic for stripe rust resistances have been assessed in Sichuan rust nurseries during the 1999/2000 season and a major workshop on stripe rust has been held in Chengdu City. The research team expects to develop an improved understanding of the Sichuan production environment, advanced germplasm and advanced methodologies for breeding superior wheat varieties for the Chinese market.

The Australian Project Officer, Dr Eric Storlie, took up his position in late March, 2000. The delay in appointment (Scheduled for October 1st) was a result of the late project commencement due to renegotiation of the Commissioned Organisation and Project Co-ordinator roles. A Chinese Project Officer has not been appointed, with Prof Zou preferring to use the money to pay existing staff to take on the extra duties connected with this project. Commencement activities were held as scheduled in April 2000. A Sichuan rust pathologist, Mr Pu Zhongjuin, received 10 weeks of training from Prof McIntosh at PBI Cobbitty during Sept-Nov 1999. Visits by other trainees scheduled to occur in the first year have been postponed due to the late start to the project. The timing of these visits is currently being negotiated.

For the second year of the project, the emphasis will be on training of Chinese personnel visiting Australia, GxE trials in Sichuan province, doubled-haploid population development, and molecular marker analysis. Using replicated samples from plots harvested in Australia, comparisons of quality measurements in Queensland and Chinese laboratories are planned, in order to compare analysis protocols and their interpretation.

Following a late commencement of the Project, this second year of the Project has been one of consolidation that has established the groundwork for the data gathering and analysis which will take place in the next three years of our work. A second season of GXE trials was successfully planted and harvested at ten sites across Chengdu, and an inspection visit in April, just before harvest, revealed that the trial layouts consistently reflected the designs sent from Australia, a very pleasing outcome. This very successful visit also led to the identification of further promising germplasm for quality and disease resistance which will be exchanged between the participants. Stripe rust nurseries in this past season demonstrated continuing emergence of new pathotypes and at the same time indicate that Australian materials with adult plant resistance show promise as a source of resistance in the Chengdu environment.

All the initially-proposed doubled haploid populations intended for marker studies on both noodle quality and pre-harvest sprouting have now been produced and seed multiplication is being conducted this winter/spring in preparation for next season's trials. Further DH populations are planned based on materials sent by Dr He from Beijing. The development of doubled haploid populations in Chengdu for the study of intermittent sterility is now underway, following the completion of laboratory renovations to provide facilities for this project's activities. All equipment purchases for the Quality Laboratory at the Crop Research Institute in Chengdu have now been completed. The molecular marker laboratory at USQ has commenced screening work of parental material to identify segregating markers to be applied across the doubled haploid populations.

Progress Summary July 2001-June 2002

The Project continues to progress well. All major GxE trials in Sichuan have now been completed following the May 2002 harvest and analysis of the data is proceeding. Analysis of doubled haploid populations for quality attributes and pre-harvest sprouting resistance is in progress and for some materials an initial season of phenotypic data has been generated. All training obligations have now been met with the exception of a second GxE Workshop, to be held in Chengdu and a visit to the quality laboratory at the LRC by the head of the quality lab in Chengdu. These activities are scheduled for September 2002 and the first half of 2003 respectively.

Module 3, concerning Stripe Rust, has now been completed and a Report by Professor McIntosh is attached (Appendix D). During the year further germplasm exchanges occurred in both directions and these are documented in Appendix E. All equipment purchases for the lab in Chengdu are now complete.

A highlight of the past year has been a successful application for supplementary funding from Ausindustry and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. These monies will enable the project participants to organise two taste panel Workshops in China to evaluate noodle product quality for some of the genotypes being produced by the project.

Year 4 (01/07/2002-30/06/2003)
The project continues to provide useful germplasm, breeding technologies and genetic information for wheat breeding programs in both China and Australia. There are six major modules in this project: studies of genotype and environment interactions across the range of growing regions in Sichuan Province, the long-term improvement of product quality attributes in Sichuan wheats, improved long-term resistance to stripe rust (completed in 2001-02); identification of genetic markers for preharvest sprouting tolerance in Chinese wheats; identification of breeding materials with low levels of male sterility under Sichuan climatic conditions; and a training program centred on transfer of modern breeding technologies, including molecular marker-based techniques.
The Genotype x Environment module has completed a three year study involving 14 genotypes grown at ten locations in Sichuan. Results of this study have provided an indication of the relative importance of various potential sources of variation in breeding trials, in particular the relative performance of a group of cultivars across a range of different environments and will act as a long term guide in the design of breeding strategies and wheat variety deployment across the Chinese province.
The Quality module compared 14 Australian and Chinese genotypes at several locations in Queensland during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Comparisons of various quality traits have provided very useful information concerning relative performance of these lines and which attributes in the Chinese and Australian materials might be suitable for crossing into the relevant adapted germplasm for each country. A large population of lines from a doubled haploid cross of two high quality Australian and Chinese varieties is currently being grown in trials in both China and Australia.
Germination of grains in the head following rain at harvest time is a major cause of economic losses in both countries. In this past year molecular marker studies of Chinese and Australian sources of resistance to this fault have shown that while there are significant similarities in the mechanisms employed, there are minor differences that may provide new combinations of genes to improve current commercial varieties. In addition the Chinese materials tested possess useful resistances to other grain defects such as black point. Many of the Chinese lines have also tested positive for high levels of an enzyme which results in poor flour quality and which can be selected against in the future using molecular markers. These characteristics are the subject of current studies.
The final year of trials screening for reduced levels of male sterility were harvested in May 2003 in Sichuan. Analysis of this data will assist our Chinese colleagues to select the most fertile breeding lines for development in Sichuan's cool, overcast, spring climates.
In September 2003, a large group of Chinese wheat breeders were trained in the statistical methods required to analyse genotype x environment interactions in field trials. The knowledge gained from this workshop will assist breeders to significantly improve the design and analysis of field trails and facilitate the selection of the very best breeding materials from those trials.

The project has progressed well during the year. Progress against objectives was as follows:

For module 1, the planting and harvesting for the GE experiment in Sichuan has been completed, and the data has been analysed. Results suggest each trial site is useful for discriminating wheat genotypes.

In module 2, the Sunco/ChuanYu12 DH population has been planted and harvested at two sites in Queensland and one site in Sichuan. Lines have been bulked, according to grain hardness, and evaluated by a taste panel in Chengdu. Results suggest grain hardness affects noodle texture. A portion of a PPO gene from the wheat cultivar, Tasman, has been cloned. A portion of this gene is being cloned from Sunco for comparison and identification of SNPs to determine if the PPO gene is directly involved in variation for PPO and noodle discoloration.

In Module 4, The Cunningham/SW950213 DH population has been screened for Molecular markers linked to preharvest sprouting. Markers have been identified on chromosomes 4A and 3D. Subsequent analysis has the objective of identifying more proximal markers.

In Module 5, the field experiment for the factors determination of intermittent reproductive sterility in Sichuan has been completed and the data are being analysed.

Project impacts have been comprehensively reviewed in the recent Project Review Report, following the Review held in September 2004. An extension of the project has been approved in order to ensure completion of critical activities.

This extended project is focussed on completing key unfinished issues identified by the major review held in September 2004. Analysis of three years of project field data and ten years of Sichuan provincial trial data is being prepared for presentation at the final workshop. This analysis will provide Sichuan wheat breeders with valuable information about breeding strategies and trial placements for their major breeding environments. All training activities have now been completed following the successful visit by three Sichuan breeders to Adelaide University in March 2005. There they received training in phenotypic analysis of (i) the embryo dormancy component of preharvest sprouting (PHS), (ii) late maturity alpha amylase (LMA) and (iii) polyphenol oxidase (PPO). A subsequent visit to Chengdu by Dr Daryl Mares reinforced this training and assisted implementation of these techniques at the Crop Research Institute of the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Markers for major genes conditioning embryo dormancy have been identified and published. These markers will assist the selection of lines with resistance to preharvest sprouting. Chromosomal regions conditioning the expression of low polyphenol oxidase activity, have been previously identified. Closely linked markers suitable for selection of these regions by breeding programmes are currently being optimised. The effectiveness of these markers in Chinese backgrounds is being assessed.

Planning for a final workshop to be held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, is well advanced and an ACIAR publication of the Workshop Proceedings will be produced.