Abstract

Durum wheat is the most relevant cereal for the whole Mediterranean agriculture, due to its intrinsic adaptation to dryland, semi-arid environments and to its strong historical cultivation tradition. It is not only relevant for the primary production sector, but also for the food industries chains associated. In Mediterranean environments, wheat is mostly grown under rainfed conditions and the crop is frequently exposed to environmental stresses, with high temperatures and water scarcity especially during the grain filling period. For these reasons, and due to recurrent disease epidemics, Mediterranean wheat productivity often remains under potential levels. Many studies, using both the Linkage Analysis (LA) and the Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) have been identified the genomic regions controlling the grain yield and the associated markers that can be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs. Here, we have summarized all the current studies identifying Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) and/or candidate genes involved in the main traits linked to grain yield: kernel weight, number of kernels per spike, number of spikes per unit area.