Molecular biological test for determining the frost tolerance of wheat and barley varieties

A molecular biological test was elaborated to determine the frost resistance of wheat and barley varieties. The method was based on detailed examinations on the effect of low temperature on the maturing process of cytoplasmic ribosomal ribonucleic acids (crRNA) in wheat and barley genotypes with different degrees of frost resistance. Preliminary results indicate that, of the precursors (pre-crRNAs) involved in the crRNA maturing process, the accumulation of the precursor with a molecular mass of 1.4 million daltons (MD) exhibited a negative correlation with the frost resistance of the wheat and barley genotypes examined, as characterised by the LT50 values. In elaborating the test, wheat and barley varieties, wheat lines and chromosome substitution lines with different degrees of frost tolerance were tested. The 1.4 MD crRNA precursor was demonstrated by means of (H3PO4)-P-32 labelling and separated using polyaclylamide gel electrophoresis, while the liquid scintillation technique was used to measure radioactivity.