Wheat Taxonomy
đŸ This page is an ongoing research dedicated to wheat and its taxonomy. It is meant to be use as a background of the art project âImprovised wheatâ, a collaborative project involving The Soft Protest Digest and French artist RaphaĂ«l Bastide.
Contents
Taxonomic table of the wheat family
An overview of the different taxonomics of wheat relatives
Taxonomy from genome and evolutive pattern
GENOTYPE | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common name(s) (english/french) | Name: species (latin) | Sub-species (latin) | Genome | Number of sets of chromosomes | Evolutive pattern | |||||||||||
A | B | G | D | S | diploid | tetraploid | hexaploid | wild | domesticated | |||||||
natural selection | natural hybridation | human selection | human hybridation | F1 hybrid (breeding) | GMO (not cultivated) | |||||||||||
Goatgrass / Ăgilope faux-Ă©peautre | Aegilops speltoides | (B) | (G) | S | X | X | ||||||||||
Tauschâs goatgrass / Ăgilope de Tausch | Aegilops tauschii | D | X | X | ||||||||||||
Einkorn wheat (wild) / Engrain sauvage | Triticum boeoticum | Ab | X | X | ||||||||||||
Einkorn wheat (cultivated) / Engrain, Petit-Ă©peautre | Triticum monococcum | Am | X | X (non-threshing) |
||||||||||||
Red wild einkorn wheat / (Blé rouge sauvage) | Triticum urartu | Au | X | X | ||||||||||||
Armenian, Araratian wild emmer / (Amidonnier sauvage dâArmĂ©nie) | Triticum araraticum | Au | G | X | X | |||||||||||
Zanduri wheat / Blé zanduri | Triticum timopheevii | Au | G | X | X | |||||||||||
Wild emmer wheat / Amidonnier sauvage (Tetraploid wheat) | Triticum turgidum | didoccoides | Au | B | X | X | ||||||||||
River wheat, Cone wheat / Blé poulard (blanc lisse) | turgidum | Au | B | X | X | |||||||||||
Emmer wheat (white) / Amidonnier blanc, Ăpeautre de Tartarie | didoccum amyleum | Au | B | X | X | |||||||||||
Emmer wheat (black) / Amidonnier noir, Noir barbu | didoccum | Au | B | X | X | |||||||||||
Durum wheat / Blé dur | durum | Au | B | X | X (naked seed) |
|||||||||||
Zhukovskyâs wheat / BlĂ© de Joukovsky | Triticum zhukovskyi | AuAm | G | X | X | |||||||||||
Common wheat, Bread wheat / Blé tendre, Froment | Triticum aestivum | aestivum | Au | B | D | X | X | |||||||||
Spelt, hulled wheat / Ăpeautre, BlĂ© des Gaulois / Farro (IT) | spelta | Au | B | D | X | X |
Taxonomy from morphologic aspect
PHENOTYPE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common name(s) (english/french) | Grains | Straw | Spikelets | Color (when mature) | ||||||||||||||||||
free-threshing | non-brittle rachis (dehusking) | hulled (keeps glume) | naked (looses glume) | single | double | tall (70-150cm) | semi-dwarf (40-60cm) | dwarf (20-30cm) | with awn (bearded) | without awn | seed, grain, caryopse | ear, blades, spike | straw, stem, culm | |||||||||
yellow | white | red | black | yellow | white | red | yellow | white | red | |||||||||||||
Goatgrass / Ăgilope faux-Ă©peautre | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Tauschâs goatgrass / Ăgilope de Tausch | X | X | X | X | X | X | X (green) |
X (green) |
||||||||||||||
Einkorn wheat (wild) / Engrain sauvage | X | X | X | (X) | X | X | X | X (orange) |
X | |||||||||||||
Einkorn wheat (cultivated) / Engrain, Petit-Ă©peautre | X | X | (X) | X | X | X | X (orange) |
X | ||||||||||||||
Red wild einkorn wheat / (Blé rouge sauvage) | X | X | (X) | X | X | X | X (green) |
X | ||||||||||||||
Armenian, Araratian wild emmer / (Amidonnier sauvage dâArmĂ©nie) | X | X | (X) | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Zanduri wheat / Blé zanduri | X | X | X | (X) | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||
Wild emmer wheat / Amidonnier sauvage (Tetraploid wheat) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
River wheat, Cone wheat / Blé poulard (blanc lisse) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||
Emmer wheat (white) / Amidonnier blanc, Ăpeautre de Tartarie | X | X | X | X | X (short) |
X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Emmer wheat (black) / Amidonnier noir, Noir barbu | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Durum wheat / Blé dur | X | X | X | X | X | X | X (translucent) |
X | X | |||||||||||||
Zhukovskyâs wheat / BlĂ© de Joukovsky | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||
Common wheat, Bread wheat / Blé tendre, Froment | X | X | X | X | X | X (Rht genes) |
X | Colour varies with common wheatâs numerous varieties | ||||||||||||||
Spelt, hulled wheat / Ăpeautre, BlĂ© des Gaulois / Farro (IT) | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Possible datas to draw a portrait of wheat
Most of these factors are related to taxonomy, and a lot of different models have existed through time, but DNA sequencing did not changed much of wheatsâ taxonomy.
- Worldwide production of wheat
- Species of wheat:
- Chemical composition of wheat:
- proteins (gluten)
- fat
- amino acids
- carbohydrates
- vitamins
- minerals
- water content
- Morphology of wheat:
- color (ear, seed, straw)
- hulled / naked (free-threshing)
- dwarfed / semi-dwarfed / tall (height)[3]
- bearded spikelets
Gallery
Aegilops species
Triticum boeoticum
Triticum monococcum
Triticum araraticum
Triticum turgidum
Triticum zhukovskyi
Triticum aestivum
Set of references
Genomic classification of wheat
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_of_wheat#Table_of_wheat_species
The observation of chromosome behaviour during meiosis, and the results of hybridisation experiments, have shown that wheat genomes (complete complements of genetic matter) can be grouped into distinctive types. Each type has been given a name, e.g. B or D. Grasses sharing the same genome will be more-or-less interfertile, and might be treated by botanists as one species. Identification of genome types is obviously a valuable tool in investigating hybridisation. For example, if two diploid plants hybridise to form a new polyploid form (an allopolyploid), the two original genomes will be present in the new form. Many thousands of years after the original hybridisation event, identification of the component genomes will allow identification of the original parent species.
In Triticum, five genomes, all originally found in diploid species, have been identified:
- Am â present in wild einkorn (T. boeoticum).
- A â present in T. urartu (closely related to T. boeoticum but not interfertile).
- B â present in most tetraploid wheats. Source not identified, but similar to Ae. speltoides.
- G â present in timopheevi group of wheats. Source not identified, but similar to Ae. speltoides.
- D â present in Ae. tauschii, and thus in all hexaploid wheats.
The genetic approach to wheat taxonomy (see below) takes the genome composition as defining each species. As there are five known combinations in Triticum this translates into five super species:
- Am T. monococcum
- Au T. urartu
- BAu T. turgidum
- GAm T. timopheevi
- BAuD T. aestivum
Polyploidy definition
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyploidy#Polyploid_types
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired (homologous) sets of chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomesâone set inherited from each parent. However, some organisms are polyploid.
The diverse polyploidies and species related to wheat:
- haploid (one set; 1x) not present in wheats.
- diploid (two sets; 2x) as T. urartu or Ae. speltoides.
- triploid (three sets; 3x) not present in wheats.
- tetraploid (four sets; 4x) as T. dicoccum or T. durum.
- pentaploid (five sets; 5x) not present in wheats.
- hexaploid (six sets; 6x) as T. aestivum and T. spelta.
Wheat genomic/molecular/phylogenic taxonomy
- Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/N-Goncharov/publication/225341394_Genus_Triticum_L_taxonomy_The_present_and_the_future/links/5524e3210cf2caf11bfce76c/Genus-Triticum-L-taxonomy-The-present-and-the-future.pdf
- Source: http://ressources.semencespaysannes.org/docs/triticum.pdf
- Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243962682_Origin_and_taxonomy_of_wheat_in_the_light_of_recent_research
- Source: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=42236#null
About wheat breeding
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Xt7RoW9uc
Wheat dwarfing and Rht genes
Source: https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/96/4/455/2187931
Wheat pictures
- Source: https://www.alanbuckingham.com/
- Source (for grains color): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0733521016301540
Notes
- â F1 hybrids were also invented for the productive goals of the Green Revolution. Two selected homozygous âpureâ plants (same genome from father + from mother through self-reproduction) with good characteristics are multiplied, thus obtaining F1 heterozygous offsprings (entire genome from father + from mother). The idea is to get the most homogeneous fields with the best individual genome of 2 varieties of wheat, with as few variations as possible. Thus, the next generations of F1s that could naturally occur cannot keep its homogeneous characteristics in time, because of wild heterozygous reproduction, self-reproduction mixing its genes, or mutations. Thatâs why farmers will have to buy seeds to cultivate it. This F1 plants can also be used by self-reproduction to get a renewed variety where some will be selected and kept.
- â GMOs have been experimented with wheat but never reached a commercial use.
- â During the Green Revolution in the mid 20th century, the emergence of synthetic fertilisers derived from mining forced a selection of wheat varieties with the goal to lower its height. With these new fertilisers, original wheat varieties of normal size would fall down the grown (lodging) and spoil or become impossible to harvest. Thatâs why most modern wheat are dwarfed thanks to reduced-height genes (Rht) found in the Japanese wheat variety Akakomugi.