Cultivar · Wheat cultivar
Chinese Spring
Chinese Spring is a landrace-derived bread wheat that became the standard genetic and cytogenetic reference line for wheat and was chosen for the first hexaploid bread wheat reference genome, released by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium in 2018.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Wheat
- Botanical taxon
- Triticum aestivum
- Type
- Reference line
- Breeding method
- Landrace selection
- Origin
- Sichuan (selected from a local white landrace), China
- Registry status
- Historical · as of 2026-07-12
- Registries
- USDA GRIN — National Small Grains Collection · United States · as of 2026-07-12Widely distributed genetic-stock/reference line conserved as germplasm; genebank presence reflects conservation and research use, not commercial registration.
- Intended use
- Genetic and cytogenetic reference line, Reference genome for bread wheat
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
Chinese Spring is a bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) selected from a Chinese landrace and long used as the standard reference line in wheat genetics. Because an extensive set of cytogenetic stocks — including chromosome addition, deletion, and nulli-tetrasomic lines developed by Ernest Sears — was available in its background, it became the genotype of choice for dissecting the wheat genome.
For the same reason, Chinese Spring was selected by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium for the first high-quality reference genome of hexaploid bread wheat, released in 2018. It is grown almost entirely for research rather than for commercial grain production.
Origin and history
Chinese Spring was selected from a Chinese landrace and, unlike many modern cultivars, is relatively free of alien chromosome introgressions. This genetic background, together with its crossability with related grasses, made it especially useful for early genetic and cytogenetic study of wheat.
Over the twentieth century, researchers — notably Ernest Sears — developed a large collection of chromosome-based genetic stocks in the Chinese Spring background. These stocks allowed the behavior of individual wheat chromosomes and chromosome arms to be studied and made Chinese Spring the de facto reference genotype for the crop.
Role as a reference line and genome
Because so many genetic tools existed in its background, Chinese Spring was chosen for the first reference genome sequence of hexaploid bread wheat. That reference, released by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium in 2018, underpins much subsequent wheat genetics and breeding research.
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Documented bread wheat reference line used globally in wheat genetics and genomics research rather than in commercial cultivation.
Climate context: A spring bread wheat maintained as a research reference rather than for production in any particular climate.
- Adaptation and trait notes are region- and season-specific, and performance varies by environment.
- Chinese Spring is a research reference line; details of its landrace origin are summarized, and no release year is asserted because it derives from a selected landrace rather than a formal breeding release.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- High
Cited for: Classification of Triticum aestivum and the Chinese Spring reference-genome assembly
- Type:
- Reference database
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Chinese Spring genetic-stock/germplasm accession and characterization
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12