The authors discuss how domestication and modern breeding have reduced genetic diversity in cultivated wheat, while emphasising the crucial role of wild accessions in restoring beneficial genes, such as those for disease resistance, drought tolerance, and improved protein content. They highlight the project PRO-WILD as an example of how useful genes from wild wheat species are identified, conserved, and integrated into modern varieties. PRO-WILD combines in-situ and ex-situ conservation, genomic characterisation, and careful breeding strategies to ensure that wild genetic resources strengthen the resilience and productivity of today's crops.
Read the full article in Italian here: Accademia Nazionale di Agricoltura → Pubblicazioni → Riviste di Divulgazione di Cultura Agraria → Numero 11 → Title: "Il miglioramento genetico tra riduzione della biodiversità e recupero di geni dalle accessioni selvatiche: l'esempio del progetto PRO-WILD"
Or read the English summary below:
Genetic diversity in cultivated plants allowed humans to select varieties suited to different environments and needs. Originally, species were confined to small regions—their centers of origin—but human activity spread them worldwide, adapting them to different climates. Domestication caused a major loss of diversity, as only a small number of plants with desirable traits (e.g., larger grains, sweeter fruits, non-shattering seeds) were selected. Later, the spread of high-yielding varieties further reduced genetic variation, replacing local varieties with elite cultivars optimised for productivity and specific environments. Modern varieties often share the same key genes but differ in other traits such as growth performance, flowering time, disease resistance, and quality.
Biodiversity can be preserved ex-situ in seed banks, where hundreds of thousands of wheat and barley accessions are stored. Conserved germplasm (seeds) allows the recovery of genes lost in modern varieties or present in wild relatives. Genetic diversity is dynamic: it can be maintained, recreated, or enhanced through crosses, mutagenesis, or assisted evolution techniques. Not all evolutionary or "natural selection" approaches are suitable, as they do not guarantee productivity or desirable traits. For example, traditional durum wheat varieties may carry genes causing cadmium accumulation, absent in their wild progenitors, showing that traits selected by nature are not always useful for humans.
Some useful genes, which increase protein content in durum wheat, were lost during domestication but can now be reintroduced into modern varieties. Wild wheats also carry genes for resistance to diseases such as leaf rust, yellow rust, and powdery mildew.
PRO-WILD focuses on exploiting wild wheat species. Wild wheats cannot be cultivated due to small, shattering seeds, but can be crossed with modern varieties to transfer beneficial genes. The project preserves wild populations in situ, e.g., in Turkey and Israel, fills gaps in ex-situ collections, and evaluates hybrid materials for traits like disease resistance, drought tolerance, yield, and nutritional quality. Backcrossing and molecular markers are used to minimise unwanted wild DNA while retaining useful genes. Complex traits like drought tolerance involve many genes and require careful dissection to integrate them successfully into modern cultivars.
Using wild wheats ensures that crops remain resilient under changing climates, improving both performance and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. PRO-WILD's approach makes wild genetic resources a practical tool to enhance modern agriculture.
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