Meiotic recombination is a critical process for plant breeding, as it creates novel allele combinations that can be exploited for crop improvement. In wheat, a complex allohexaploid that has a diploid-like behaviour, meiotic recombination between homoeologous or alien chromosomes is suppressed through the action of several loci. Here, we report positional cloning of Pairing homoeologous 2 (Ph2) and functional validation of the wheat DNA mismatch repair protein MSH7-3D as a key inhibitor of homoeologous recombination, thus solving a half-century-old question. Similar to ph2 mutant phenotype, we show that mutating MSH7-3D induces a substantial increase in homoeologous recombination (up to 5.5 fold) in wheat-wild relative hybrids, which is also associated with a reduction in homologous recombination. These data reveal a role for MSH7-3D in meiotic stabilisation of allopolyploidy and provides an opportunity to improve wheat's genetic diversity through alien gene introgression, a major bottleneck facing crop improvement.

Genetics Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals UMR 1095 INRAE Université Clermont Auvergne Clermont Ferrand France

Genetics Reproduction and Development CNRS Inserm Université Clermont Auvergne Clermont Ferrand France

Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Centre of the Region Hana for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research Olomouc Czech Republic

School of Agriculture Food and Wine University of Adelaide Waite Campus PMB1 Glen Osmond SA Australia

South Australian Research and Development Institute Adelaide SA Australia

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