Wheat Cybrid Plants, OryzaWheat, Regenerated from Wheat-Rice Hybrid Zygotes via in Vitro Fertilization System Possess Wheat-Rice Hybrid Mitochondria

Hybridization is essential for biodiversity and improving crop traits. Recent advances have successfully overcome the hybridization barrier between wheat and rice, two major cereals. Researchers produced allopolyploid hybrid zygotes in vitro, leading to mature plants with a unique genomic composition: wheat nuclear and cytoplasmic DNA paired with variable amounts (11%-47%) of rice mitochondrial DNA. This hybrid, termed OryzaWheat, can pass on rice mtDNA to future generations. Furthermore, a chromosome translocation was noted, where rice chromosome 1 integrated into wheat chromosome 6A. OryzaWheat opens new avenues for genetic resource utilization between the distinct subfamilies of wheat and rice.