Triticum

Selected Triticum Facts

Common Name - CommonWheat (13)
Family: Poaceae or Graminae -- Grass family
Subfamily: Pooideae
Tribe: Triticeae
Genus Triticum L. -- wheat
Species Triticum aestivum
*2005 World Production - 623,283,035 Metric Ton
*2005 World Harvest - Ha
**Genome Size 16,500 Mb
Chromosome number : 7
2n = 6X = 42
Photosynthetic pathway: C3

Photo by Tim McCabe, 1982
Courtesy NRCS

* Data obtained from FAOSTAT 2006(16)
** Data obtained from (20)

Wheat can have more than two sets of chromosomes (1).
Different wheat breeds have different chromosomes due to hybridization. Wheats may be diploid (14 chromosomes, Einkorn), tetraploid (28 chromosomes, Emmer), or hexaploid (42 chromosomes, Spelt). (10).
The more chromosomes, the easier it is to breed varieties suitable to local soil and climate (10).
Common wheat is a hexaploid.
Einkorn wheat is diploid (2x chromosomes) and was hybridized with another wild diploid grass (Triticum speltoides, Triticum tripsacoides or Triticum searsii) to make the tetraploid (4x chromosomes) breeds, Emmer and Durum wheat. Emmer and Durum wheat hybridized with yet another wild diploid grass (Triticum tauschii) made the hexaploid (6x chromosomes) breeds Spelt wheat and Common wheat. (1)

For more information, see also: http://mcb.berkeley.edu/labs/cande/pages.dir/wheat.html
For Wheat Genome facts, see also www.tigr.org/tdb/e2k1/tae1/info.shtml
For World Wheat production and Consumption tables from CIMMYT

References:

1. Wikipedia, November 2005. Wheat & Neolithic entries from Wikipedia
2. International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center, Nov 2005. International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN)
3. K. Edwards, G. Jellis, S. Shepherd, G. Barker, & J. Parker. Nov 2005. Wheat, the Big Picture
4. Delacy, I. & Micallef, S., Nov 2005. < a href="http://mendel.lafs.uq.edu.au:8080/ICIS5/".The Global Wheat Information System (GWIS), The University of Queensland,
5. Beuerlein, J., 2001. Classes and Uses of Wheat: Fact Sheet
6. WholeHealthMD.com, LLC., 2000. Foods: Wheat.
7. Oracle Education Foundation, Nov 2005. Where Wheat is Grown. Article written for Thinquest Junior Competition.
8. Wroot, S., Pinkersgall, D., and "Oz", (2001). The History of Wheat.
9. "Oz", 2001. Modern Wheat: Wheat Characteristics and Useage.
10. Wroot, S., 2003. Wheat - structure and genetics.
11. History of Wheat. from http://shopping.netledger.com/s.nl/c.ACCT140751/sc.5/category.-105/it.I/id.4/.f
12. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2005. Wheat Columbia University Press.
13. USDA-NRCS, 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov) Data compiled from various sources by Mark W Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
14. Nov 2005. GWIS - Global Wheat Information System
15. Matthews, D. (Accessed Nov 2005) Wheat Synonymy Tables Project
16. FAOSTAT, 2005. Crops Primary data last updated July 14, 2005, Food Supply Data last updated Aug 27, 2004.
17. Nov 2005. US Wheat Associates. "Wheat Classes"
18. USDA, ARS, Nov 2005. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. 12442
19. (http://wire.ndsu.nodak.edu/) Wheat Information Resource (WIRE)
20. Arumuganathan, K., and E. Earle, 1991. "Nuclear DNA Content of Some Important Plant Species." Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, v9, 208-218. (Gramene Reference ID 8392)