Genetic Regulation of Common Wheat Heading Time

The success of plant adaptation in different agroecological conditions is largely determined by the heading time. In grain crops, this is one of the basic traits in description of the variety, since the selection of varieties by the appropriate heading time for the region of their cultivation provides maximal realization of the potential of the variety by the productivity. To develop wheat varieties adapted to certain conditions, it is important to understand the mechanisms of formation of this trait at a diploid and polyploid level of genome organization. This review summarizes the main mechanisms underlying the formation of the heading time of diploid and polyploid wheat forms; the genes whose change in the expression is associated with variation in the common wheat heading time are described. Besides the main mechanisms such as photoperiod sensitivity and vernalization requirement, the effects of the circadian rhythms genes, phytohormones, light receptors, microRNA, and some other factors that significantly contribute to the heading time formation are analyzed.