Hybrid breeding in wheat has the potential to boost yields. An efficient hybrid seed production system requires elite pollinators; however, such germplasm is limited among modern cultivars. Piko, a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, has been identified as a superior pollinator and has been used in Europe. Piko has favourable pollinator traits for anther extrusion, anther length, pollen mass and hybrid seed set. However, the genetic factors responsible for Piko’s favourable traits are largely unknown. Here, we report on the genetic analysis of a Piko-derived F₂ mapping population. We confirmed that Piko’s Rht-D1a allele for tall stature is associated with large anthers and high anther extrusion. However, Rht-D1 was not found to be associated with anther filament length, confirmed by near isogenic lines. Piko’s photoperiod sensitive Ppd-B1b allele shows an association with increased spike length, more spikelets and spike architecture traits, while the insensitive Ppd-B1a allele is linked with high anther extrusion and larger anthers. We identified an anther extrusion quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 6A that showed significantly biased transmission of the favourable Piko allele amongst F₂ progenies. The Piko allele is completely absent in the distal 6AS region and the central 6A region revealed a significantly lower ratio (<8%) of F₂ with homozygous Piko alleles. Our study provided further evidence for the effects of Rht-D1 and Ppd-B1 loci on multiple pollinator traits and a novel anther extrusion QTL that exhibits segregation distortion.

小麦杂交育种有提高单产的潜力。一个有效的杂交种子生产系统需要精英传粉者；但是，这种种质在现代品种中是有限的。Piko是一种冬小麦（Triticum aestivum L.）品种，已被确认为优良的传粉媒介，并已在欧洲使用。皮科对花药挤出，花药长度，花粉质量和杂种结实具有良好的授粉特性。然而，导致皮科（Piko）良好性状的遗传因素在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这里，我们报告了皮科派生的F ₂作图种群的遗传分析。我们证实了Piko的高个子Rht - D1a等位基因与大花药和高花药挤出有关。但是，Rht-未发现D1与花药丝长度有关，这由近等基因系证实。皮科（Piko）对光周期敏感的Ppd - B1b等位基因显示出与穗长增加，更多的小穗和穗结构特征有关，而不敏感的Ppd - B1a等位基因与高花药挤出和较大的花药有关。我们在6A染色体上鉴定了一个花药挤压数量性状基因座（QTL），该基因座显示出有利的Piko等位基因在F ₂后代之间的传递有明显偏向。皮科等位基因在远端6AS区完全不存在，而中心6A区的F ₂比率显着较低（<8％）与纯合的Piko等位基因。我们的研究为Rht - D1和Ppd - B1基因座对多种授粉媒介性状的影响和新型花药挤压QTL表现出偏析提供了进一步的证据。