The study of new agents for enhancing biodiversity in local winter wheat varieties represents a promising direction for developing both new commercial cultivars and components for recombination breeding. This research aimed to evaluate the potential of Triton-305X (TX-305) as an epimutagen, with a focus on optimizing the yield of mutant forms from local varietal resources. Seeds from four winter wheat varieties were treated with water (control) and TX-305 at concentrations of 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.5%. The most successful outcomes across all varieties were observed at concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5%, particularly in combination with the varieties Farrell and NE 12443. Lower concentrations were less effective in generating valuable forms. All varieties demonstrated significant genotype-mutagen interactions, resulting in notable positive changes in variability parameters. TX-305 shows considerable promise for inducing short-stemmed, early-ripening forms, as well as long-spiked, high-yielding lines with large seeds. These findings underscore the potential of epimutagens as powerful tools in winter wheat breeding. By modulating chromatin structure, epimutagens offer a controlled and targeted method for inducing genetic variability, opening new opportunities for crop improvement under changing environmental conditions. Future research will focus on the long-term stability of epimutagen-induced traits and their effective integration into commercial breeding programs.
NAZARENKO et al. (Mon,) studied this question.