AUTHOR=Lauterberg Madita , Saranga Yehoshua , Deblieck Mathieu , Klukas Christian , Krugman Tamar , Perovic Dragan , Ordon Frank , Graner Andreas , Neumann Kerstin 

TITLE=Precision phenotyping across the life cycle to validate and decipher drought-adaptive QTLs of wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides) introduced into elite wheat varieties

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.965287

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.965287

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Drought events or the combination of drought and heat conditions are expected to become more frequent due to global warming, and wheat yields may fall below their long-term average. One way to increase climate-resilience of modern high-yielding varieties is by their genetic improvement with beneficial alleles from crop wild relatives. 
In the present study, the effect of two beneficial QTLs introgressed from wild emmer wheat and incorporated in three wheat varieties was studied under well-watered conditions and under drought stress using non-destructive High-throughput Phenotyping (HTP) throughout the life cycle. 
The yield-enhancing effect of the introduced QTLs under drought conditions that were previously demonstrated under field/screenhouse conditions in Israel, could be confirmed in a greenhouse experiment using HTP. Daily phenotyping enabled to decipher the mode of action of the QTLs in the different genetic backgrounds, and yielded information about which image-derived traits are informative at which developmental stage of the entire life cycle. 
The estimated biovolume and plant height were used to allow a precise comparison of the severity of the effect and the timing of the effect on the tomb stress between the recurrent parent and the corresponding Near Isogenic Line (NIL) and also serve to better explain interrelationships between manually measured parameters. 
Furthermore, the color parameters in this study allow meaningful conclusions to be drawn about the effect of drought stress on the ripening time. The color parameter hue showed that the higher thousand grain weight (TGW) was due to the stay-green effect, i.e. slower senescence associated with slower chlorophyll degradation in the final ripening stage of NIL under drought stress.