The initial domestication of the allo-tetraploid wild emmer wheat [WEW; T. turgidum ssp. Dicoccoides (Körn.) Thell.; genome BBAA] and the subsequent evolution of hulled domesticated emmer wheat (DEW; T. turgidum ssp. dicoccum Schrank) led to the selection of free-threshing durum wheat [T. turgidum ssp. durum (Desf.) MacKey, or DW]. DEW itself derived from wild emmer wheat (WEW), T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (Körn. ex Asch. & Graebn.) Thell., in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago. Although the first evidence of DW dates to 6,500–7,500 years ago, DW became established as a prominent crop only 1,500–2,000 years ago. Thus, the human-driven tetraploid wheat evolution process is the result of domestication (WEW to DEW), continued evolution under domestication (DEW to durum wheat landraces, DWL) and breeding improvement from DWL to modern durum wheat cultivars (DWC). DW is a cereal grain mainly used for pasta production.

The genome sequence of durum wheat collected here is a fully assembled genome of the modern DW cultivar (cv.) Svevo. It was sequenced by a consortium of 31 institutions led by wheat researchers at University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy using a similar strategy as the wild emmer genome sequencing (Maccaferri, et al. Nat. Genet, 2019).

Gene Expression Data: 1 RNA-Seq study and 20 RNA-Seq samples are currently available on WheatGene.

Raw RNA-Seq data was retrieved from the NCBI and processed by the WheatGene team to estimate the TPM expression patters. Such data belongs to the following study:

• Xiang D et al. The Transcriptional Landscape of Polyploid Wheats and Their Diploid Ancestors during Embryogenesis and Grain Development. Plant Cell, 2019 Dec;31(12):2888-2911