Wheat germplasm is a fundamental resource for basic
research, applied studies, and wheat breeding, which can be enriched normally
by several paths, such as collecting natural lines, accumulating breeding
lines, and introducing mutagenesis materials.
Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) is an alkylating agent that can effectively
introduce genetic variations in a wide variety of plant species. In this study, we created a million-scale EMS
population (MEP) that started with the Chinese wheat cultivars ‘Luyan 128’,
‘Jimai 38’, ‘Jimai 44’, and ‘Shannong 30’.
In the M1 generation, the MEP had numerous phenotypical
variations, such as >3,000 chlorophyll-deficient mutants, 2,519 compact
spikes, and 1,692 male sterile spikes.
There were also rare mutations, including 30 independent tillers each
with double heads. Some M1 variations of chlorophyll-deficiency and compact spikes were inheritable,
appearing in the M2 or M3 generations. To advance the entire MEP to higher
generations, we adopted a single-seed descendent (SSD) approach. All other seed composites of M2 were used to screen other agronomically important traits, such as the tolerance
to herbicide quizalofop-P-methyl. The
MEP is available for collaborative projects, and provides a valuable toolbox
for wheat genetics and breeding for sustainable agriculture.