Introgression of rye chromosome arm 1RS enhances climate resilience in German winter wheat

Abstract

We provide quantitative evidence that rye chromosome arm 1RS exerts background- and context-dependent effects on yield, stability, and grain protein content in contemporary elite winter wheat. Integrated multi-environment analyses demonstrate that translocation lines exhibit pronounced yield stability across 14 contrasting environments, with ‘Insave’- and ‘Petkus’-derived segments contributing through distinct performance profiles relevant for climate-resilient wheat breeding. Climate extremes increasingly threaten wheat production and yield stability globally. Rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome arm 1RS has long been deployed in wheat breeding, yet its agronomic performance under drought and its interaction with elite genetic backgrounds remain insufficiently characterized. We evaluated 1RS translocations in elite German winter wheat using integrated molecular diversity analyses, multi-environment field phenotyping, and genomic modeling. Under near-optimal precipitation in 2021, matching the 1961–1990 reference period, the investigated winter wheat panel exhibited considerable genetic variation for yield and agronomic traits, indicating that high yield potential is still present in current German winter wheat breeding germplasm. In contrast, severe drought conditions in 2022 resulted in a 13.7% average yield decline, underscoring the sensitivity of current germplasm to drought stress. We show that 1RS translocations exhibit background-dependent effects on grain yield and stability. In particular, T1AL.1RS rye translocation originating from ‘Insave’ rye and stacked T1AL.1RS/T1BL.1RS translocations combining ‘Insave’ and ‘Petkus’ rye segments demonstrated favorable yield performance under drought conditions, although effects were context-dependent. Genetic modeling confirmed a significant interaction between 1RS translocations and the wheat genetic background, indicating that deployment of 1RS requires consideration of recipient genetic background. Our results highlight substantial response diversity within elite germplasm and demonstrate that targeted introgression of rye chromatin can contribute to improved climate resilience when systematically introgressed into adapted genetic backgrounds. The robust multi-environment field evaluation provides a strong foundation for interpreting translocation effects in modern elite germplasm. Complementary trait-level analyses, particularly root phenotyping and evaluation of double 1RS translocations within uniform genetic backgrounds, will further elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed responses.