Utilisation of carbon isotope discrimination in the genetic improvement of drought tolerance and yield potential in wheat

Improvement of drought tolerance in cereals is an important aim for cereal breeders. Drought tolerance related traits have been extensively described in cereals. Their study, however, is based on instantaneous measurements (e.g., gas exchange, fluorescence or water status parameters) which association with yield highly depends on the environmental conditions at the moment of assessment. Realizing these measurements on high numbers of plants, what is a prerequisite for genetic or molecular studies, is tedious and often unrealistic. As a consequence, little is known about the genetics of these traits, and they are not used or even taken into serious consideration in breeding programs. The emergence of isotopic methods may substantially modify the situation. The tremendous advantages of this criterion in breeding programs are related to i) its integrative value, ii) its low genotype x environment interactions and high heritability values, and iii) the easiness of sample preparation and automatization of isotopic analysis. Researches carried out at ENSA-INRA Montpellier (1993-2000) have essentially concerned durum wheat adaptation to Mediterranean conditions. They were carried out in closed collaboration with the CIMMYT/ICARDA Durum Wheat Program and breeding programs of Algeria, Tunisia and Yemen. Studies realized at CIMMYT mainly concerned yield potential and bread wheat