Did the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) shape the evolutionary trajectory of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)?

C. F Morris; E. P Fuerst; B. S Beecher; D. J Mclean; C. P James; H. W Geng

doi:10.1002/ece3.724

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Did the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) shape the evolutionary trajectory of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)?

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Did the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) shape the evolutionary trajectory of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)?

C. F Morris, E. P Fuerst, B. S Beecher, D. J Mclean, C. P James and H. W Geng

Ecology and evolution, Vol.3(10), pp.3447-3454

09/2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.724

Handle:

https://hdl.handle.net/2376/113353

PMCID: PMC3797490

PMID: 24223281

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Abstract

kernel texture

wheat

house mouse

Grain hardness

puroindolines

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most successful domesticated plant species in the world. The majority of wheat carries mutations in the Puroindoline genes that result in a hard kernel phenotype. An evolutionary explanation, or selective advantage, for the spread and persistence of these hard kernel mutations has yet to be established. Here, we demonstrate that the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) exerts a pronounced feeding preference for soft over hard kernels. When allele frequencies ranged from 0.5 to 0.009, mouse predation increased the hard allele frequency as much as 10‐fold. Studies involving a single hard kernel mixed with ~1000 soft kernels failed to recover the mutant kernel. Nevertheless, the study clearly demonstrates that the house mouse could have played a role in the evolution of wheat, and therefore the cultural trajectory of humankind. Wheat kernel texture phenotype of plants grown from uneaten kernels. Hard and soft kernels were given to mice. Allele frequency of hard kernels (dots > 60) was substantially increased.

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Title: Did the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) shape the evolutionary trajectory of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)?
Creators: C. F Morris - USDA‐ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory
E. P Fuerst - Washington State University
B. S Beecher - USDA‐ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory
D. J Mclean - Washington State University
C. P James - USDA‐ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory
H. W Geng - Washington State University
Publication Details: Ecology and evolution, Vol.3(10), pp.3447-3454
Academic Unit: Center for Reproductive Biology; Crop and Soil Sciences, Department of
Number of pages: 8
Grant note: USDA via CRIS (5348-43440-006-00D)
Identifiers: 99900547616501842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article