Triticum militinae Zhuk. et Migusch. – definitely not a mutant T.timopheevii Zhuk., as it was believed for many years

Abstract

After sequencing the complete chloroplast genome of Triticum militinae Zhuk. et Migusch. and comparative analysis with those of other polyploid wheat revealed that this species is much closer to the lineage of wheat turgidum than to the lineage timopheevii as it was thought for a long time, taking it for a natural mutant T.timopheevii Zhuk. The investigation of the origin of wheat Militina with high probability pointed to its man–made creation by A.R.Zhebrak in the 1930s - 1940s, who carried out various crosses with Timofeev wheat, including with white-eared, red-eared and black-eared forms of T.persicum wheat, using them both as maternal and paternal forms - Tr.persicum v. stramineum × Tr.timopheevi; Tr.timopheevi × Tr.persicum v. rubiginosum; Tr.persicum v. fuliginosum. At the same time, there are now white-eared and black-eared forms of T.militia, apparently, which are exactly those hybrids.