Genetic Dissection of Aluminium Tolerance in the Triticeae

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is the major constraint to crop productivity on acidic soils worldwide. Members of the Triticeae such as wheat, barley, and rice, show a range of genetic variation within and between species. Among key cereals, rye displays the maximum level of Al tolerance, while barley shows the least. In the majority of species, genetic control for aluminium tolerance has been investigated using conventional genetic and molecular analyses. During the last decade, candidate and causative genes and mechanisms for Al tolerance have been identified in wheat, barley, rice and sorghum. New phenotypic and genotyping platforms were also developed in order to understand genes and their networks underlying Al tolerance comprehensively. In this chapter, we review the progress made on recent discoveries on genetic dissection of aluminium tolerance with special focus on wheat, barley, and rice.