Diversity, distribution of Puroindoline genes and their effect on kernel hardness in a diverse panel of Chinese wheat germplasm.

The kernel hardness in a diverse panel of Chinese wheat germplasm revealed an increasing of kernel hardness generally along with the latitude across China. The wild type Pina-D1a and Pinb-D1a, and one Pinb mutant (Pinb-D1b) are the most common alleles of six Pina and nine Pinb alleles, and a new double null genotype (Pina-D1x/Pinb-D1ah) possessed relatively high SKCS hardness index. More hard type varieties were released in recent years with different prevalence of Pin-D1 combinations in different regions. This work would benefit the understanding of the selection and molecular processes of kernel hardness across China and different breeding stages, and provide useful information for the improvement of wheat quality in China.