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Huang Y, Schnurbusch T. The Birth and Death of Floral Organs in Cereal Crops. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 75:427-458. [PMID: 38424062 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-060223-041716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Florets of cereal crops are the basic reproductive organs that produce grains for food or feed. The birth of a floret progresses through meristem initiation and floral organ identity specification and maintenance. During these processes, both endogenous and external cues can trigger a premature floral organ death, leading to reproductive failure. Recent advances in different cereal crops have identified both conserved and distinct regulators governing the birth of a floret. However, the molecular underpinnings of floral death are just beginning to be understood. In this review, we first provide a general overview of the current findings in the field of floral development in major cereals and outline different forms of floral deaths, particularly in the Triticeae crops. We then highlight the importance of vascular patterning and photosynthesis in floral development and reproductive success and argue for an expanded knowledge of floral birth-death balance in the context of agroecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongyu Huang
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Seeland, Germany; ,
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Seeland, Germany; ,
- Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
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2
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Thirulogachandar V, Govind G, Hensel G, Kale SM, Kuhlmann M, Eschen-Lippold L, Rutten T, Koppolu R, Rajaraman J, Palakolanu SR, Seiler C, Sakuma S, Jayakodi M, Lee J, Kumlehn J, Komatsuda T, Schnurbusch T, Sreenivasulu N. HOMEOBOX2, the paralog of SIX-ROWED SPIKE1/HOMEOBOX1, is dispensable for barley spikelet development. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:2900-2916. [PMID: 38366171 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
The HD-ZIP class I transcription factor Homeobox 1 (HvHOX1), also known as Vulgare Row-type Spike 1 (VRS1) or Six-rowed Spike 1, regulates lateral spikelet fertility in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). It was shown that HvHOX1 has a high expression only in lateral spikelets, while its paralog HvHOX2 was found to be expressed in different plant organs. Yet, the mechanistic functions of HvHOX1 and HvHOX2 during spikelet development are still fragmentary. Here, we show that compared with HvHOX1, HvHOX2 is more highly conserved across different barley genotypes and Hordeum species, hinting at a possibly vital but still unclarified biological role. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation, DNA-binding, and transactivation assays, we validate that HvHOX1 and HvHOX2 are bona fide transcriptional activators that may potentially heterodimerize. Accordingly, both genes exhibit similar spatiotemporal expression patterns during spike development and growth, albeit their mRNA levels differ quantitatively. We show that HvHOX1 delays the lateral spikelet meristem differentiation and affects fertility by aborting the reproductive organs. Interestingly, the ancestral relationship of the two genes inferred from their co-expressed gene networks suggested that HvHOX1 and HvHOX2 might play a similar role during barley spikelet development. However, CRISPR-derived mutants of HvHOX1 and HvHOX2 demonstrated the suppressive role of HvHOX1 on lateral spikelets, while the loss of HvHOX2 does not influence spikelet development. Collectively, our study shows that through the suppression of reproductive organs, lateral spikelet fertility is regulated by HvHOX1, whereas HvHOX2 is dispensable for spikelet development in barley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkatasubbu Thirulogachandar
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
- Research Group Abiotic Stress Genomics, Interdisciplinary Center for Crop Plant Research (IZN), Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Geetha Govind
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Götz Hensel
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Sandip M Kale
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Markus Kuhlmann
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
- Research Group Abiotic Stress Genomics, Interdisciplinary Center for Crop Plant Research (IZN), Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Twan Rutten
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Ravi Koppolu
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Jeyaraman Rajaraman
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Sudhakar Reddy Palakolanu
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Christiane Seiler
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Shun Sakuma
- National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS), Plant Genome Research Unit, Tsukuba 3058602, Japan
| | - Murukarthick Jayakodi
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Justin Lee
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), Weinberg 3, D-06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Jochen Kumlehn
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Takao Komatsuda
- National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS), Plant Genome Research Unit, Tsukuba 3058602, Japan
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Nese Sreenivasulu
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
- Research Group Abiotic Stress Genomics, Interdisciplinary Center for Crop Plant Research (IZN), Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
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Du B, Wu J, Wang Q, Sun C, Sun G, Zhou J, Zhang L, Xiong Q, Ren X, Lu B. Genome-wide screening of meta-QTL and candidate genes controlling yield and yield-related traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303751. [PMID: 38768114 PMCID: PMC11104655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Increasing yield is an important goal of barley breeding. In this study, 54 papers published from 2001-2022 on QTL mapping for yield and yield-related traits in barley were collected, which contained 1080 QTLs mapped to the barley high-density consensus map for QTL meta-analysis. These initial QTLs were integrated into 85 meta-QTLs (MQTL) with a mean confidence interval (CI) of 2.76 cM, which was 7.86-fold narrower than the CI of the initial QTL. Among these 85 MQTLs, 68 MQTLs were validated in GWAS studies, and 25 breeder's MQTLs were screened from them. Seventeen barley orthologs of yield-related genes in rice and maize were identified within the hcMQTL region based on comparative genomics strategy and were presumed to be reliable candidates for controlling yield-related traits. The results of this study provide useful information for molecular marker-assisted breeding and candidate gene mining of yield-related traits in barley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binbin Du
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu’an, China
| | - Jia Wu
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu’an, China
| | | | - Chaoyue Sun
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu’an, China
| | - Genlou Sun
- Biology Department, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Jie Zhou
- Lu’an Academy of Agricultural Science, Lu’an, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Lu’an Academy of Agricultural Science, Lu’an, China
| | | | - Xifeng Ren
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Baowei Lu
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu’an, China
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Rutten T, Thirulogachandar V, Huang Y, Shanmugaraj N, Koppolu R, Ortleb S, Hensel G, Kumlehn J, Melzer M, Schnurbusch T. Anatomical insights into the vascular layout of the barley rachis: implications for transport and spikelet connection. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:983-996. [PMID: 38407464 PMCID: PMC11089264 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Vascular patterning is intimately related to plant form and function. Here, using barley (Hordeum vulgare) as a model, we studied the vascular anatomy of the spike-type inflorescence. The main aim of the present work was to clarify the relationship between rachis (spike axis) vasculature and spike size, to define vascular dynamics and to discuss the implications for transport capacity and its interaction with the spikelets. METHODS We used serial transverse internode sections to determine the internode area, vascular area and number of veins along the rachis of several barley lines. KEY RESULTS Internode area and total vascular area show a clear positive correlation with spike size, whereas the number of veins is only weakly correlated. The lateral periphery of the rachis contains large mature veins of constant size, whereas the central part is occupied by small immature veins. Spikelet-derived veins entering the rachis often merge with the immature rachis veins but never merge with the mature veins. An increase in floret fertility through the conversion of a two-rowed barley into an isogenic six-rowed line, in addition to a decrease in floret fertility owing to enhanced pre-anthesis tip degeneration caused by the mutation tip sterile 2.b (tst2.b), significantly affected vein size but had limited to no effects on the number of veins or internode area. CONCLUSIONS The rachis vasculature is the result of a two-step process involving an initial layout followed by size adjustment according to floret fertility/spike size. The restriction of large mature vessels to the periphery and that of small immature vessels to the centre of the rachis suggests that long-distance transport and local supply to spikelets are spatially separated processes. The identification of spikelet-derived veins entering the rachis without fusing with its vasculature indicates that a vascular continuity between rachis and spikelets might be non-essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Twan Rutten
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | | | - Yongyu Huang
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | | | - Ravi Koppolu
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Stefan Ortleb
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Götz Hensel
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
- Center for Plant Genome Engineering, Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jochen Kumlehn
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Michael Melzer
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Halle-Wittenberg Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University, 06120 Halle, Germany
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Fan C, Xu D, Wang C, Chen Z, Dou T, Qin D, Guo A, Zhao M, Pei H, Zhao M, Zhang R, Wang K, Zhang J, Ni Z, Guo G. Natural variations of HvSRN1 modulate the spike rachis node number in barley. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 5:100670. [PMID: 37563835 PMCID: PMC10811343 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2023.100670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Grain number, one of the major determinants of yield in Triticeae crops, is largely determined by spikelet number and spike rachis node number (SRN). Here, we identified three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SRN using 145 recombinant inbred lines derived from a barley R90/1815D cross. qSRN1, the major-effect QTL, was mapped to chromosome 2H and explained up to 38.77% of SRN variation. Map-based cloning revealed that qSRN1 encodes the RAWUL domain-containing protein HvSRN1. Further analysis revealed that two key SNPs in the HvSRN1 promoter region (∼2 kb upstream of the transcription start site) affect the transcript level of HvSRN1 and contribute to variation in SRN. Similar to its orthologous proteins OsLAX2 and ZmBA2, HvSRN1 showed protein-protein interactions with HvLAX1, suggesting that the LAX2-LAX1 model for spike morphology regulation may be conserved in Poaceae crops. CRISPR-Cas9-induced HvSRN1 mutants showed reduced SRN but increased grain size and weight, demonstrating a trade-off effect. Our results shed light on the role of HvSRN1 variation in regulating the balance between grain number and weight in barley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaofeng Fan
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China; Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China
| | - Dongdong Xu
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China; Institute of Industrial Crops, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Chunchao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Zhaoyan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Tingyu Dou
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Dandan Qin
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China
| | - Aikui Guo
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Meng Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Honghong Pei
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Mengwei Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Renxu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ke Wang
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Zhongfu Ni
- Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
| | - Ganggang Guo
- Key Laboratory of Grain Crop Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization (MARA), The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), Beijing 100081, China.
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Zhang Y, Shen C, Shi J, Shi J, Zhang D. Boosting Triticeae crop grain yield by manipulating molecular modules to regulate inflorescence architecture: insights and knowledge from other cereal crops. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:17-35. [PMID: 37935244 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
One of the challenges for global food security is to reliably and sustainably improve the grain yield of cereal crops. One solution is to modify the architecture of the grain-bearing inflorescence to optimize for grain number and size. Cereal inflorescences are complex structures, with determinacy, branching patterns, and spikelet/floret growth patterns that vary by species. Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in our understanding of the genetic regulation of inflorescence architecture in rice, maize, wheat, and barley. Here, we summarize current knowledge on key genetic factors underlying the different inflorescence morphologies of these crops and model plants (Arabidopsis and tomato), focusing particularly on the regulation of inflorescence meristem determinacy and spikelet meristem identity and determinacy. We also discuss strategies to identify and utilize these superior alleles to optimize inflorescence architecture and, ultimately, improve crop grain yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueya Zhang
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Chaoqun Shen
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jin Shi
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jianxin Shi
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai 200240, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya 572025, China
| | - Dabing Zhang
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai 200240, China
- Yazhou Bay Institute of Deepsea Sci-Tech, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya 572025, China
- School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5064, Australia
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Gallagher JP, Man J, Chiaramida A, Rozza IK, Patterson EL, Powell MM, Schrager-Lavelle A, Multani DS, Meeley RB, Bartlett ME. GRASSY TILLERS1 ( GT1) and SIX-ROWED SPIKE1 ( VRS1) homologs share conserved roles in growth repression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2311961120. [PMID: 38096411 PMCID: PMC10742383 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311961120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Crop engineering and de novo domestication using gene editing are new frontiers in agriculture. However, outside of well-studied crops and model systems, prioritizing engineering targets remains challenging. Evolution can guide us, revealing genes with deeply conserved roles that have repeatedly been selected in the evolution of plant form. Homologs of the transcription factor genes GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) and SIX-ROWED SPIKE1 (VRS1) have repeatedly been targets of selection in domestication and evolution, where they repress growth in many developmental contexts. This suggests a conserved role for these genes in regulating growth repression. To test this, we determined the roles of GT1 and VRS1 homologs in maize (Zea mays) and the distantly related grass brachypodium (Brachypodium distachyon) using gene editing and mutant analysis. In maize, gt1; vrs1-like1 (vrl1) mutants have derepressed growth of floral organs. In addition, gt1; vrl1 mutants bore more ears and more branches, indicating broad roles in growth repression. In brachypodium, Bdgt1; Bdvrl1 mutants have more branches, spikelets, and flowers than wild-type plants, indicating conserved roles for GT1 and VRS1 homologs in growth suppression over ca. 59 My of grass evolution. Importantly, many of these traits influence crop productivity. Notably, maize GT1 can suppress growth in arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) floral organs, despite ca. 160 My of evolution separating the grasses and arabidopsis. Thus, GT1 and VRS1 maintain their potency as growth regulators across vast timescales and in distinct developmental contexts. This work highlights the power of evolution to inform gene editing in crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P. Gallagher
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003
- Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis, OR97331
| | - Jarrett Man
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003
| | | | | | | | - Morgan M. Powell
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003
| | | | - Dilbag S. Multani
- Corteva Agriscience, Johnston, IA50131
- Napigen, Inc., Wilmington, DE19803
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8
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Wakeman A, Bennett T. Auxins and grass shoot architecture: how the most important hormone makes the most important plants. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:6975-6988. [PMID: 37474124 PMCID: PMC10690731 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Cereals are a group of grasses cultivated by humans for their grain. It is from these cereal grains that the majority of all calories consumed by humans are derived. The production of these grains is the result of the development of a series of hierarchical reproductive structures that form the distinct shoot architecture of the grasses. Being spatiotemporally complex, the coordination of grass shoot development is tightly controlled by a network of genes and signals, including the key phytohormone auxin. Hormonal manipulation has therefore been identified as a promising potential approach to increasing cereal crop yields and therefore ultimately global food security. Recent work translating the substantial body of auxin research from model plants into cereal crop species is revealing the contribution of auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signalling to the development of grass shoot architecture. This review discusses this still-maturing knowledge base and examines the possibility that changes in auxin biology could have been a causative agent in the evolution of differences in shoot architecture between key grass species, or could underpin the future selective breeding of cereal crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Wakeman
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Tom Bennett
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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9
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Shanmugaraj N, Rajaraman J, Kale S, Kamal R, Huang Y, Thirulogachandar V, Garibay-Hernández A, Budhagatapalli N, Tandron Moya YA, Hajirezaei MR, Rutten T, Hensel G, Melzer M, Kumlehn J, von Wirén N, Mock HP, Schnurbusch T. Multilayered regulation of developmentally programmed pre-anthesis tip degeneration of the barley inflorescence. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:3973-4001. [PMID: 37282730 PMCID: PMC10615218 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Leaf and floral tissue degeneration is a common feature in plants. In cereal crops such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), pre-anthesis tip degeneration (PTD) starts with growth arrest of the inflorescence meristem dome, which is followed basipetally by the degeneration of floral primordia and the central axis. Due to its quantitative nature and environmental sensitivity, inflorescence PTD constitutes a complex, multilayered trait affecting final grain number. This trait appears to be highly predictable and heritable under standardized growth conditions, consistent with a developmentally programmed mechanism. To elucidate the molecular underpinnings of inflorescence PTD, we combined metabolomic, transcriptomic, and genetic approaches to show that barley inflorescence PTD is accompanied by sugar depletion, amino acid degradation, and abscisic acid responses involving transcriptional regulators of senescence, defense, and light signaling. Based on transcriptome analyses, we identified GRASSY TILLERS1 (HvGT1), encoding an HD-ZIP transcription factor, as an important modulator of inflorescence PTD. A gene-edited knockout mutant of HvGT1 delayed PTD and increased differentiated apical spikelets and final spikelet number, suggesting a possible strategy to increase grain number in cereals. We propose a molecular framework that leads to barley PTD, the manipulation of which may increase yield potential in barley and other related cereals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandhakumar Shanmugaraj
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Jeyaraman Rajaraman
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Sandip Kale
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Roop Kamal
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Yongyu Huang
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Venkatasubbu Thirulogachandar
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Adriana Garibay-Hernández
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Nagaveni Budhagatapalli
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Yudelsy Antonia Tandron Moya
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Mohammed R Hajirezaei
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Twan Rutten
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Götz Hensel
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Michael Melzer
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Jochen Kumlehn
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Nicolaus von Wirén
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Hans-Peter Mock
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, Seeland 06466,Germany
- Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Halle 06120,Germany
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10
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Visioni A, Basile B, Amri A, Sanchez-Garcia M, Corrado G. Advancing the Conservation and Utilization of Barley Genetic Resources: Insights into Germplasm Management and Breeding for Sustainable Agriculture. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3186. [PMID: 37765350 PMCID: PMC10535687 DOI: 10.3390/plants12183186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Barley is a very important crop particularly in marginal dry areas, where it often serves as the most viable option for farmers. Additionally, barley carries great significance in the Western world, serving not only as a fundamental crop for animal feed and malting but also as a nutritious food source. The broad adaptability of barley and its ability to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses often make this species the sole cereal that can be cultivated in arid regions. The collection and utilization of barley genetic resources are crucial for identifying valuable traits to enhance productivity and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. This review aims to provide an overview of the management and exploitation of barley genetic resources. Furthermore, the review explores the relationship between gene banks and participatory breeding, offering insights into the diversity and utilization of barley genetic resources through some examples such as the initiatives undertaken by ICARDA. Finally, this contribution highlights the importance of these resources for boosting barley productivity, addressing climate change impacts, and meeting the growing food demands in a rapidly changing agriculture. The understanding and utilizing the rich genetic diversity of barley can contribute to sustainable agriculture and ensure the success of this vital crop for future generations globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Visioni
- International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat 10100, Morocco; (A.A.); (M.S.-G.)
| | - Boris Basile
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy;
| | - Ahmed Amri
- International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat 10100, Morocco; (A.A.); (M.S.-G.)
| | - Miguel Sanchez-Garcia
- International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat 10100, Morocco; (A.A.); (M.S.-G.)
| | - Giandomenico Corrado
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy;
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11
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Rozanova IV, Grigoriev YN, Efimov VM, Igoshin AV, Khlestkina EK. Genetic Dissection of Spike Productivity Traits in the Siberian Collection of Spring Barley. Biomolecules 2023; 13:909. [PMID: 37371489 DOI: 10.3390/biom13060909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most commonly cultivated cereals worldwide. Its local varieties can represent a valuable source of unique genetic variants useful for crop improvement. The aim of this study was to reveal loci contributing to spike productivity traits in Siberian spring barley and to develop diagnostic DNA markers for marker-assisted breeding programs. For this purpose we conducted a genome-wide association study using a panel of 94 barley varieties. In total, 64 SNPs significantly associated with productivity traits were revealed. Twenty-three SNP markers were validated by genotyping in an independent sample set using competitive allele-specific PCR (KASP). Finally, fourteen markers associated with spike productivity traits on chromosomes 2H, 4H and 5H can be suggested for use in breeding programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina V Rozanova
- N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), 190000 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrentjeva Ave. 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Yuriy N Grigoriev
- Siberian Research Institute of Plant Cultivation and Breeding-Branch of Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoobsk, 630501 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Vadim M Efimov
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrentjeva Ave. 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Alexander V Igoshin
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrentjeva Ave. 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Elena K Khlestkina
- N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), 190000 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrentjeva Ave. 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
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12
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Sadka A, Walker CH, Haim D, Bennett T. Just enough fruit: understanding feedback mechanisms during sexual reproductive development. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:2448-2461. [PMID: 36724082 PMCID: PMC10112685 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The fruit and seed produced by a small number of crop plants provide the majority of food eaten across the world. Given the growing global population, there is a pressing need to increase yields of these crops without using more land or more chemical inputs. Many of these crops display prominent 'fruit-flowering feedbacks', in which fruit produced early in sexual reproductive development can inhibit the production of further fruit by a range of mechanisms. Understanding and overcoming these feedbacks thus presents a plausible route to increasing crop yields 'for free'. In this review, we define three key types of fruit-flowering feedback, and examine how frequent they are and their effects on reproduction in a wide range of both wild and cultivated species. We then assess how these phenomenologically distinct phenomena might arise from conserved phytohormonal signalling events, particularly the export of auxin from growing organs. Finally, we offer some thoughts on the evolutionary basis for these self-limiting sexual reproductive patterns, and whether they are also present in the cereal crops that fundamentally underpin global diets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catriona H Walker
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Dor Haim
- Department of Fruit Tree Sciences, Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, The Volcani Institute, Rishon Le’Zion 7528809, Israel
- The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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13
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Clare SJ, Çelik Oğuz A, Effertz K, Karakaya A, Azamparsa MR, Brueggeman RS. Wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) and landraces (Hordeum vulgare) from Turkey contain an abundance of novel Rhynchosporium commune resistance loci. TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2023; 136:15. [PMID: 36662256 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-023-04245-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Rhynchosporium commune is a globally devastating pathogen of barley. Wild and landrace barley are underutilized, however, contain an abundance of loci that can be used as potential sources of resistance. Rhynchosporium commune, the causal agent of the disease scald or leaf blotch of barley, is a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen of global importance, responsible for yield losses ranging from 30 to 40% on susceptible varieties. To date, over 150 resistance loci have been characterized in barley. However, due to the suspected location of the R. commune host jump in Europe, European germplasm has been the primary source used to screen for R. commune resistance leaving wild (Hordeum spontaneum) and landrace (H. vulgare) barley populations from the center of origin largely underutilized. A diverse population consisting of 94 wild and 188 barley landraces from Turkey were genotyped using PCR-GBS amplicon sequencing and screened with six Turkish R. commune isolates. The isolates were collected from distinct geographic regions of Turkey with two from the Aegean region, two from central Turkey and two from the Fertile Crescent region. The data set was utilized for association mapping analysis with a total of 21 loci identified, of which 12 were novel, indicating that these diverse primary barley gene pools contain an abundance of novel R. commune resistances that could be utilized for resistance breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaun J Clare
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA
| | - Arzu Çelik Oğuz
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Dışkapı, 06110, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Karl Effertz
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA
| | - Aziz Karakaya
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Dışkapı, 06110, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Mohammad Reza Azamparsa
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Robert S Brueggeman
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA.
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, Johnson Hall Rm. 115, PO Box 646420, Pullman, WA, 99164-6420, USA.
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14
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Jeanty A, Bouby L, Bonhomme V, Balfourier F, Debiton C, Dham C, Ivorra S, Ros J, Evin A. Barley systematics and taxonomy foreseen by seed morphometric variation. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285195. [PMID: 37195931 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Since its Neolithic domestication in the Fertile Crescent, barley has spread to all continents and represents a major cereal in many modern agrarian systems. Current barley diversity includes thousands of varieties divided into four main categories corresponding to 2-row and 6-row subspecies and naked and hulled types, each of them with winter and spring varieties. This diversity is associated to different uses and allow cultivation in diverse environments. We used a large dataset of 58 varieties of French origin, (1) to assess the taxonomic signal in barley grain measurements comparing 2-row and 6-row subspecies, and naked and hulled types; (2) to test the impact of the sowing period and interannual variation on the grains size and shape; (3) to investigate the existence of morphological differences between winter and spring types; and finally (4) to contrast the relationship between the morphometric and genetic proximity. Size and shape of 1980 modern barley caryopses were quantified through elliptic Fourier Transforms and traditional size measurements. Our results indicate that barley grains record morphological diversity of the ear (89.3% classification accuracy between 2-row/6-row subspecies; 85.2% between hulled and naked type), sowing time of the grains (from 65.6% to 73.3% within barley groups), and environmental conditions during its cultivation and varietal diversity. This study opens perspectives for studying archaeological barley seeds and tracing the barley diversity and evolution since the Neolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angèle Jeanty
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Laurent Bouby
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Vincent Bonhomme
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Athéna, Lacamp, Roquedur, France
| | | | | | - Camille Dham
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Sarah Ivorra
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Ros
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Allowen Evin
- ISEM, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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15
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Qin D, Liu G, Liu R, Wang C, Xu F, Xu Q, Ling Y, Dong G, Peng Y, Ge S, Guo G, Dong J, Li C. Positional cloning identified HvTUBULIN8 as the candidate gene for round lateral spikelet (RLS) in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). TAG. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS. THEORETISCHE UND ANGEWANDTE GENETIK 2023; 136:7. [PMID: 36656367 PMCID: PMC9852219 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-023-04272-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Map-based cloning, subcellular localization, virus-induced-gene-silencing and transcriptomic analysis reveal HvTUB8 as a candidate gene with pleiotropic effects on barley spike and leaf development via ethylene and chlorophyll metabolism. Barley lateral spikelet morphology and grain shape play key roles in grain physical quality and yield. Several genes and QTLs for these traits have been cloned or fine mapped previously. Here, we report the phenotypic and genotypic analysis of a barley mutant with round lateral spikelet (rls) from cv. Edamai 934. rls had round lateral spikelet, short but round grain, shortened awn, thick glume and dark green leaves. Histocytologic and ultrastructural analysis revealed that the difference of grain shape of rls was caused by change of cell arrangement in glume, and the dark leaf color resulted from enlarged chloroplast. HvTUBULIN8 (HvTUB8) was identified as the candidate gene for rls by combination of RNA-Seq, map-based-cloning, virus-induced-gene-silencing (VIGS) and protein subcellular location. A single G-A substitution at the third exon of HvTUB8 resulted in change of Cysteine 354 to tyrosine. Furthermore, the mutant isoform Hvtub8 could be detected in both nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas the wild-type protein was only in cytoplasm and granular organelles of wheat protoplasts. Being consistent with the rare phenotype, the "A" allele of HvTUB8 was only detected in rls, but not in a worldwide barley germplasm panel with 400 accessions. VIGS confirmed that HvTUB8 was essential to maintain spike integrity. RNA-Seq results suggested that HvTUB8 may control spike morphogenesis via ethylene homeostasis and signaling, and control leaf color through chlorophyll metabolism. Collectively, our results support HvTUB8 as a candidate gene for barley spike and leaf morphology and provide insight of a novel mechanism of it in barley development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dandan Qin
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Gang Liu
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Rui Liu
- Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, 430023, Hubei, China
| | - Chunchao Wang
- Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Fuchao Xu
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Qing Xu
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Yu Ling
- College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, Guangdong, China
| | - Guoqing Dong
- Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, 430023, Hubei, China
| | - Yanchun Peng
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Shuangtao Ge
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Ganggang Guo
- Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jing Dong
- Institute of Food Crops, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory for Crop Molecular, Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China
| | - Chengdao Li
- Western Crop Genetics Alliance, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Western Australia, WA, 6150, Australia.
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16
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Shrestha A, Cosenza F, van Inghelandt D, Wu PY, Li J, Casale FA, Weisweiler M, Stich B. The double round-robin population unravels the genetic architecture of grain size in barley. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:7344-7361. [PMID: 36094852 PMCID: PMC9730814 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Grain number, size and weight primarily determine the yield of barley. Although the genes regulating grain number are well studied in barley, the genetic loci and the causal gene for sink capacity are poorly understood. Therefore, the primary objective of our work was to dissect the genetic architecture of grain size and weight in barley. We used a multi-parent population developed from a genetic cross between 23 diverse barley inbreds in a double round-robin design. Seed size-related parameters such as grain length, grain width, grain area and thousand-grain weight were evaluated in the HvDRR population comprising 45 recombinant inbred line sub-populations. We found significant genotypic variation for all seed size characteristics, and observed 84% or higher heritability across four environments. The quantitative trait locus (QTL) detection results indicate that the genetic architecture of grain size is more complex than previously reported. In addition, both cultivars and landraces contributed positive alleles at grain size QTLs. Candidate genes identified using genome-wide variant calling data for all parental inbred lines indicated overlapping and potential novel regulators of grain size in cereals. Furthermore, our results indicated that sink capacity was the primary determinant of grain weight in barley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asis Shrestha
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Francesco Cosenza
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Delphine van Inghelandt
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Po-Ya Wu
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Jinquan Li
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Federico A Casale
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Marius Weisweiler
- Institute for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Biology Department, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
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17
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de Souza Moraes T, van Es SW, Hernández-Pinzón I, Kirschner GK, van der Wal F, da Silveira SR, Busscher-Lange J, Angenent GC, Moscou M, Immink RGH, van Esse GW. The TCP transcription factor HvTB2 heterodimerizes with VRS5 and controls spike architecture in barley. PLANT REPRODUCTION 2022; 35:205-220. [PMID: 35254529 PMCID: PMC9352630 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-022-00441-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the molecular network, including protein-protein interactions, of VRS5 provide new routes towards the identification of other key regulators of plant architecture in barley. The TCP transcriptional regulator TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1 (TB1) is a key regulator of plant architecture. In barley, an important cereal crop, HvTB1 (also referred to as VULGARE SIX-ROWED spike (VRS) 5), inhibits the outgrowth of side shoots, or tillers, and grains. Despite its key role in barley development, there is limited knowledge on the molecular network that is utilized by VRS5. In this work, we performed protein-protein interaction studies of VRS5. Our analysis shows that VRS5 potentially interacts with a diverse set of proteins, including other class II TCP's, NF-Y TF, but also chromatin remodelers. Zooming in on the interaction capacity of VRS5 with other TCP TFs shows that VRS5 preferably interacts with other class II TCP TFs in the TB1 clade. Induced mutagenesis through CRISPR-Cas of one of the putative VRS5 interactors, HvTB2 (also referred to as COMPOSITUM 1 and BRANCHED AND INDETERMINATE SPIKELET 1), resulted in plants that have lost their characteristic unbranched spike architecture. More specifically, hvtb2 mutants exhibited branches arising at the main spike, suggesting that HvTB2 acts as inhibitor of branching. Our protein-protein interaction studies of VRS5 resulted in the identification of HvTB2 as putative interactor of VRS5, another key regulator of spike architecture in barley. The study presented here provides a first step to underpin the protein-protein interactome of VRS5 and to identify other, yet unknown, key regulators of barley plant architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana de Souza Moraes
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, CEP 13416-000, Brazil
| | - Sam W van Es
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Gwendolyn K Kirschner
- Institute of Crop Functional Genomics, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany
| | - Froukje van der Wal
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sylvia Rodrigues da Silveira
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, CEP 13416-000, Brazil
| | - Jacqueline Busscher-Lange
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gerco C Angenent
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Matthew Moscou
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Richard G H Immink
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - G Wilma van Esse
- Cluster of Plant Developmental Biology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Bioscience, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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18
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Kamal R, Muqaddasi QH, Zhao Y, Schnurbusch T. Spikelet abortion in six-rowed barley is mainly influenced by final spikelet number, with potential spikelet number acting as a suppressor trait. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:2005-2020. [PMID: 34864992 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The potential to increase barley grain yield lies in the indeterminate nature of its inflorescence meristem, which produces spikelets, the basic reproductive unit in grasses that are linked to reproductive success. During early reproductive growth, barley spikes pass through the maximum yield potential-a stage after which no new spikelet ridges are produced. Subsequently, spikelet abortion (SA), a phenomenon in which spikelets abort during spike growth, imposes a bottleneck for increasing the grain yield potential. Here, we studied the potential of main culm spikes by counting potential spikelet number (PSN) and final spikelet number (FSN), and computed the corresponding SA (%) in a panel of 417 six-rowed spring barleys. Our phenotypic data analyses showed a significantly large within- and across-years genotypic variation with high broad-sense heritability estimates for all the investigated traits, including SA. Asian accessions displayed the lowest SA, indicating the presence of favourable alleles that may be exploited in breeding programs. A significantly negative Pearson's product-moment correlation was observed between FSN and SA. Our path analysis revealed that PSN and FSN explain 93% of the observed phenotypic variability for SA, with PSN behaving as a suppressor trait that magnifies the effect of FSN. Based on a large set of diverse barley accessions, our results provide a deeper phenotypic understanding of the quantitative genetic nature of SA, its association with traits of high agronomic importance, and a resource for further genetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roop Kamal
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland OT Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Quddoos H Muqaddasi
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland OT Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Yusheng Zhao
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland OT Gatersleben, Germany
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland OT Gatersleben, Germany
- Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06120 Halle, Germany
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19
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Klein H, Gallagher J, Demesa-Arevalo E, Abraham-Juárez MJ, Heeney M, Feil R, Lunn JE, Xiao Y, Chuck G, Whipple C, Jackson D, Bartlett M. Recruitment of an ancient branching program to suppress carpel development in maize flowers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022. [PMID: 34996873 DOI: 10.1101/2021.09.03.458935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Carpels in maize undergo programmed cell death in half of the flowers initiated in ears and in all flowers in tassels. The HD-ZIP I transcription factor gene GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) is one of only a few genes known to regulate this process. To identify additional regulators of carpel suppression, we performed a gt1 enhancer screen and found a genetic interaction between gt1 and ramosa3 (ra3). RA3 is a classic inflorescence meristem determinacy gene that encodes a trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) phosphatase (TPP). Dissection of floral development revealed that ra3 single mutants have partially derepressed carpels, whereas gt1;ra3 double mutants have completely derepressed carpels. Surprisingly, gt1 suppresses ra3 inflorescence branching, revealing a role for gt1 in meristem determinacy. Supporting these genetic interactions, GT1 and RA3 proteins colocalize to carpel nuclei in developing flowers. Global expression profiling revealed common genes misregulated in single and double mutant flowers, as well as in derepressed gt1 axillary meristems. Indeed, we found that ra3 enhances gt1 vegetative branching, similar to the roles for the trehalose pathway and GT1 homologs in the eudicots. This functional conservation over ∼160 million years of evolution reveals ancient roles for GT1-like genes and the trehalose pathway in regulating axillary meristem suppression, later recruited to mediate carpel suppression. Our findings expose hidden pleiotropy of classic maize genes and show how an ancient developmental program was redeployed to sculpt floral form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Klein
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Joseph Gallagher
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003
| | | | - María Jazmín Abraham-Juárez
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003
- Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Guanajuato 36821, Mexico
| | - Michelle Heeney
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Regina Feil
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - John E Lunn
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Yuguo Xiao
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84692
| | - George Chuck
- Plant Gene Expression Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94710
| | - Clinton Whipple
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84692
| | - David Jackson
- Plant Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
| | - Madelaine Bartlett
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003;
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20
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Recruitment of an ancient branching program to suppress carpel development in maize flowers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2115871119. [PMID: 34996873 PMCID: PMC8764674 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115871119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Floral morphology is immensely diverse. One developmental process acting to shape this diversity is growth suppression. For example, grass flowers exhibit extreme diversity in floral sexuality, arising through differential suppression of stamens or carpels. The genes regulating this growth suppression and how they have evolved remain largely unknown. We discovered that two classic developmental genes with ancient roles in controlling vegetative branching were recruited to suppress carpel development in maize. Our results highlight the power of forward genetics to reveal unpredictable genetic interactions and hidden pleiotropy of developmental genes. More broadly, our findings illustrate how ancient gene functions are recruited to new developmental contexts in the evolution of plant form. Carpels in maize undergo programmed cell death in half of the flowers initiated in ears and in all flowers in tassels. The HD-ZIP I transcription factor gene GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) is one of only a few genes known to regulate this process. To identify additional regulators of carpel suppression, we performed a gt1 enhancer screen and found a genetic interaction between gt1 and ramosa3 (ra3). RA3 is a classic inflorescence meristem determinacy gene that encodes a trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) phosphatase (TPP). Dissection of floral development revealed that ra3 single mutants have partially derepressed carpels, whereas gt1;ra3 double mutants have completely derepressed carpels. Surprisingly, gt1 suppresses ra3 inflorescence branching, revealing a role for gt1 in meristem determinacy. Supporting these genetic interactions, GT1 and RA3 proteins colocalize to carpel nuclei in developing flowers. Global expression profiling revealed common genes misregulated in single and double mutant flowers, as well as in derepressed gt1 axillary meristems. Indeed, we found that ra3 enhances gt1 vegetative branching, similar to the roles for the trehalose pathway and GT1 homologs in the eudicots. This functional conservation over ∼160 million years of evolution reveals ancient roles for GT1-like genes and the trehalose pathway in regulating axillary meristem suppression, later recruited to mediate carpel suppression. Our findings expose hidden pleiotropy of classic maize genes and show how an ancient developmental program was redeployed to sculpt floral form.
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21
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Thirulogachandar V, Koppolu R, Schnurbusch T. Strategies of grain number determination differentiate barley row types. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:7754-7768. [PMID: 34460900 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Gaining knowledge on fundamental interactions of various yield components is crucial to improve yield potential in small grain cereals. It is well known in barley that increasing grain number greatly improves yield potential; however, the yield components determining grain number and their association in barley row types are less explored. In this study, we assessed different yield components such as potential spikelet number (PSN), spikelet survival (SSL), spikelet number (SN), grain set (GS), and grain survival (GSL), as well as their interactions with grain number by using a selected panel of two- and six-rowed barley types. Also, to analyze the stability of these interactions, we performed the study in the greenhouse and the field. From this study, we found that in two-rowed barley, grain number determination is strongly influenced by PSN rather than SSL and/or GS in both growth conditions. Conversely, in six-rowed barley, grain number is associated with SSL instead of PSN and/or GS. Thus, our study showed that increasing grain number might be possible by augmenting PSN in two-rowed genotypes, while for six-rowed genotypes SSL needs to be improved. We speculate that this disparity of grain number determination in barley row types might be due to the fertility of lateral spikelets. Collectively, this study revealed that grain number in two-rowed barley largely depends on the developmental trait, PSN, while in six-rowed barley, it mainly follows the ability for SSL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkatasubbu Thirulogachandar
- Independent HEISENBERG Research Group Plant Architecture, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben,Germany
| | - Ravi Koppolu
- Independent HEISENBERG Research Group Plant Architecture, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben,Germany
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Independent HEISENBERG Research Group Plant Architecture, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben,Germany
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle,Germany
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22
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Yang X, Tucker MR. Establishing a regulatory blueprint for ovule number and function during plant development. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 63:102095. [PMID: 34428719 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The plant ovule is a fundamentally important organ that is the direct progenitor of the seed. It is one of the last structures to form in the flower and contains relatively few tissues, but undergoes complex developmental transitions that are essential for reproduction. Ovule number and flower fertility are important factors influencing yield, yet studies have identified challenges in trying to increase one without compromising the other. Recent findings in Arabidopsis and cereal crops highlight regulatory pathways that contribute to this yield constraint. Here, we consider the basis for variation in ovule number and development, with a particular focus on hormones and transcriptional regulators that constitute promising targets for the optimisation of reproductive traits and yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiujuan Yang
- Waite Research Institute, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Matthew R Tucker
- Waite Research Institute, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia.
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23
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Liu L, Lindsay PL, Jackson D. Next Generation Cereal Crop Yield Enhancement: From Knowledge of Inflorescence Development to Practical Engineering by Genome Editing. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:5167. [PMID: 34068350 PMCID: PMC8153303 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22105167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial domestication and improvement of the majority of crops began approximately 10,000 years ago, in different parts of the world, to achieve high productivity, good quality, and widespread adaptability. It was initiated from a phenotype-based selection by local farmers and developed to current biotechnology-based breeding to feed over 7 billion people. For most cereal crops, yield relates to grain production, which could be enhanced by increasing grain number and weight. Grain number is typically determined during inflorescence development. Many mutants and genes for inflorescence development have already been characterized in cereal crops. Therefore, optimization of such genes could fine-tune yield-related traits, such as grain number. With the rapidly advancing genome-editing technologies and understanding of yield-related traits, knowledge-driven breeding by design is becoming a reality. This review introduces knowledge about inflorescence yield-related traits in cereal crops, focusing on rice, maize, and wheat. Next, emerging genome-editing technologies and recent studies that apply this technology to engineer crop yield improvement by targeting inflorescence development are reviewed. These approaches promise to usher in a new era of breeding practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David Jackson
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA; (L.L.); (P.L.L.)
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24
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Thiel J, Koppolu R, Trautewig C, Hertig C, Kale SM, Erbe S, Mascher M, Himmelbach A, Rutten T, Esteban E, Pasha A, Kumlehn J, Provart NJ, Vanderauwera S, Frohberg C, Schnurbusch T. Transcriptional landscapes of floral meristems in barley. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabf0832. [PMID: 33910893 PMCID: PMC8081368 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf0832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Organ development in plants predominantly occurs postembryonically through combinatorial activity of meristems; therefore, meristem and organ fate are intimately connected. Inflorescence morphogenesis in grasses (Poaceae) is complex and relies on a specialized floral meristem, called spikelet meristem, that gives rise to all other floral organs and ultimately the grain. The fate of the spikelet determines reproductive success and contributes toward yield-related traits in cereal crops. Here, we examined the transcriptional landscapes of floral meristems in the temperate crop barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) using RNA-seq of laser capture microdissected tissues from immature, developing floral structures. Our unbiased, high-resolution approach revealed fundamental regulatory networks, previously unknown pathways, and key regulators of barley floral fate and will equally be indispensable for comparative transcriptional studies of grass meristems.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Thiel
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany.
| | - R Koppolu
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany.
| | - C Trautewig
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - C Hertig
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - S M Kale
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - S Erbe
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - M Mascher
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - A Himmelbach
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - T Rutten
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - E Esteban
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - A Pasha
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - J Kumlehn
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
| | - N J Provart
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology/Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - S Vanderauwera
- BASF Belgium Coordination Center CommV, Innovation Center Gent, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 101, 9052 Gent, Belgium
| | - C Frohberg
- BASF Belgium Coordination Center CommV, Innovation Center Gent, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 101, 9052 Gent, Belgium
| | - T Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany.
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, 06120 Halle, Germany
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25
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Youssef HM, Allam M, Boussora F, Himmelbach A, Milner SG, Mascher M, Schnurbusch T. Dissecting the Genetic Basis of Lateral and Central Spikelet Development and Grain Traits in Intermedium-Spike Barley ( Hordeum vulgare Convar. Intermedium). PLANTS 2020; 9:plants9121655. [PMID: 33256118 PMCID: PMC7760360 DOI: 10.3390/plants9121655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the major grain crops worldwide and considered as a model plant for temperate cereals. One of the barley row-type groups, named intermedium-barley, was used in our previous study where we reported that other genetic loci rather than vrs1 and Int-c could play a role in lateral spikelet development and even in setting grains. To continue this work, we used phenotypic and genotypic data of 254 intermedium-spike barley accessions aimed at dissecting the genetic basis of development and grain traits of lateral and central spikelet using genome wide association (GWAS) analysis. After genotypic data filtering, 8,653 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) were used for GWAS analysis. A total of 169 significant associations were identified and we focused only on the subset of associations that exceeded the p < 10−4 threshold. Thirty-three highly significant marker-trait-associations (MTAs), represented in 28 different SNPs on all seven chromosomes for the central and/or lateral spikelet traits; such as kernel length, width, area, weight, unfilled spikelet and 1000-kernel weight, were detected. Highly significant associated markers were anchored physically using barley genome sequencing to identify candidate genes to either contain the SNPs or the closest gene to the SNP position. The results showed that 12 MTAs were specific for lateral spikelet traits, nine MTAs were specific for central spikelet traits and seven MTAs for both central and lateral traits. All together, the GWAS and candidate gene results support our hypothesis that lateral spikelet development could be regulated by loci different from those regulating central spikelet development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helmy M. Youssef
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
- Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
- Correspondence: (H.M.Y.); (T.S.); Tel.: 49-3455522683 (H.M.Y.)
| | - Mohamed Allam
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
- Faculty of Agriculture, Assuit University, Assuit 71526, Egypt
| | - Faiza Boussora
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
- Institute of Arid Lands of Medenine, Route du Djorf km 22.5, Médénine 4100, Tunisia
| | - Axel Himmelbach
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Sara G. Milner
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Martin Mascher
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany; (M.A.); (F.B.); (A.H.); (S.G.M.); (M.M.)
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
- Correspondence: (H.M.Y.); (T.S.); Tel.: 49-3455522683 (H.M.Y.)
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26
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Molecular and genetic pathways for optimizing spikelet development and grain yield. ABIOTECH 2020; 1:276-292. [PMID: 36304128 PMCID: PMC9590455 DOI: 10.1007/s42994-020-00026-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The spikelet is a unique structure of inflorescence in grasses that generates one to many flowers depending on its determinate or indeterminate meristem activity. The growth patterns and number of spikelets, furthermore, define inflorescence architecture and yield. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying spikelet development and evolution are attractive to both biologists and breeders. Based on the progress in rice and maize, along with increasing numbers of genetic mutants and genome sequences from other grass families, the regulatory networks underpinning spikelet development are becoming clearer. This is particularly evident for domesticated traits in agriculture. This review focuses on recent progress on spikelet initiation, and spikelet and floret fertility, by comparing results from Arabidopsis with that of rice, sorghum, maize, barley, wheat, Brachypodium distachyon, and Setaria viridis. This progress may benefit genetic engineering and molecular breeding to enhance grain yield.
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27
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Dixon LE, Pasquariello M, Boden SA. TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 regulates height and stem internode length in bread wheat. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:4742-4750. [PMID: 32449515 PMCID: PMC7410180 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Regulation of plant height and stem elongation has contributed significantly to improvement of cereal productivity by reducing lodging and improving distribution of assimilates to the inflorescence and grain. In wheat, genetic control of height has been largely contributed by the Reduced height-1 alleles that confer gibberellin insensitivity; the beneficial effects of these alleles are associated with less favourable effects involving seedling emergence, grain quality, and inflorescence architecture that have driven new research investigating genetic variation of stem growth. Here, we show that TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 (TB1) regulates height of wheat, with TB1 being expressed at low levels in nodes of the main culm prior to elongation, and increased dosage of TB1 restricting elongation of stem internodes. The effect of TB1 on stem growth is not accompanied by poor seedling emergence, as transgenic lines with increased activity of TB1 form longer coleoptiles than null transgenic controls. Analysis of height in a multiparent mapping population also showed that allelic variation for TB1 on the B genome influences height, with plants containing the variant TB-B1b allele being taller than those with the wild-type TB-B1a allele. Our results show that TB1 restricts height and stem elongation in wheat, suggesting that variant alleles that alter the expression or function of TB1 could be used as a new source of genetic diversity for optimizing architecture of wheat in breeding programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Dixon
- Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich, UK
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Scott A Boden
- Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich, UK
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, Waite Research Precinct, University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, SA, Australia
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28
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Genome-Wide Analysis of the GRAS Gene Family in Barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.). Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11050553. [PMID: 32423019 PMCID: PMC7290968 DOI: 10.3390/genes11050553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The GRAS (named after first three identified proteins within this family, GAI, RGA, and SCR) family contains plant-specific genes encoding transcriptional regulators that play a key role in gibberellin (GA) signaling, which regulates plant growth and development. Even though GRAS genes have been characterized in some plant species, little research is known about the GRAS genes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). In this study, we observed 62 GRAS members from barley genome, which were grouped into 12 subgroups by using phylogenomic analysis together with the GRAS genes from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), maize (Zea mays), and rice (Oryza sativa). Chromosome localization and gene structure analysis suggested that duplication events and abundant presence of intronless genes might account for the massive expansion of GRAS gene family in barley. The analysis of RNA-seq data indicates the expression pattern of GRAS genes in various tissues at different stages in barley. Noteworthy, our qRT-PCR analysis showed the expression of 18 candidate GRAS genes abundantly in the developing inflorescence, indicating their potential roles in the barley inflorescence development and reproduction. Collectively, our evolutionary and expression analysis of GRAS family are useful for future functional characterization of GA signaling in barley and agricultural improvement.
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29
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Natural Genetic Variation Underlying Tiller Development in Barley ( Hordeum vulgare L). G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:1197-1212. [PMID: 31996357 PMCID: PMC7144072 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), lateral branches called tillers contribute to grain yield and define shoot architecture, but genetic control of tiller number and developmental rate are not well characterized. The primary objectives of this work were to examine relationships between tiller number and other agronomic and morphological traits and identify natural genetic variation associated with tiller number and rate, and related traits. We grew 768 lines from the USDA National Small Grain Collection in the field and collected data over two years for tiller number and rate, and agronomic and morphological traits. Our results confirmed that spike row-type and days to heading are correlated with tiller number, and as much as 28% of tiller number variance was associated with these traits. In addition, negative correlations between tiller number and leaf width and stem diameter were observed, indicating trade-offs between tiller development and other vegetative growth. Thirty-three quantitative trait loci (QTL) were associated with tiller number or rate. Of these, 40% overlapped QTL associated with days to heading and 22% overlapped QTL associated with spike row-type, further supporting that tiller development is associated with these traits. Some QTL associated with tiller number or rate, including the major QTL on chromosome 3H, were not associated with other traits, suggesting that some QTL may be directly related to rate of tiller development or axillary bud number. These results enhance our knowledge of the genetic control of tiller development in barley, which is important for optimizing tiller number and rate for yield improvement.
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30
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Sakuma S, Schnurbusch T. Of floral fortune: tinkering with the grain yield potential of cereal crops. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 225:1873-1882. [PMID: 31509613 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Enhancing the yield potential and stability of small-grain cereals, such as wheat (Triticum sp.), rice (Oryza sativa), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), is a priority for global food security. Over the last several decades, plant breeders have increased grain yield mainly by increasing the number of grains produced in each inflorescence. This trait is determined by the number of spikelets per spike and the number of fertile florets per spikelet. Recent genetic and genomic advances in cereal grass species have identified the molecular determinants of grain number and facilitated the exchange of information across genera. In this review, we focus on the genetic basis of inflorescence architecture in Triticeae crops, highlighting recent insights that have helped to improve grain yield by, for example, reducing the preprogrammed abortion of floral organs. The accumulating information on inflorescence development can be harnessed to enhance grain yield by comparative trait reconstruction and rational design to boost the yield potential of grain crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun Sakuma
- Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, 680-8553, Japan
| | - Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, 06466, Germany
- Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
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Youssef HM, Hansson M. Crosstalk among hormones in barley spike contributes to the yield. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2019; 38:1013-1016. [PMID: 31139893 PMCID: PMC6647112 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02430-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE The hormonal ratios along the barley spike regulate the development, atrophy and abortion of the spikelets and could be the mechanism by which the barley spike adapts its yield potential. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the oldest cereal crops known to be cultivated since about 10,000 years. The inflorescence of cultivated barley is an indeterminate spike that produces three single-flowered spikelets at each rachis node which make it unique among the grasses. The yield production in barley is predominantly controlled by very important parameters such as number of tillers and number of spikelets per spike. These two parameters are negatively correlated. Therefore, studying the biological and genetics of the spikelet development during the spike developmental stages is essential for breeding programs. Here we summarize our current understanding of the crosstalk between hormones such as auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin and abscisic acid along the spike and what is their role in regulating spike and spikelet development in barley. We conclude that the hormonal ratios at the apical, central, and basal sections of the spike not only regulate the spike developmental stages, but also the development, atrophy, and abortion of the spikelets. This hormonal dependent modification of the grain number along the spike could be the mechanism by which the barley spike adapts its yield potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helmy M Youssef
- Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt.
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35B, 22362, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Mats Hansson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35B, 22362, Lund, Sweden
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Schnurbusch T. Wheat and barley biology: Towards new frontiers. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY 2019; 61:198-203. [PMID: 30694021 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten Schnurbusch
- Independent HEISENBERG-Research Group Plant Architecture, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, OT Gatersleben, 06466 Seeland, Germany
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Gauley A, Boden SA. Genetic pathways controlling inflorescence architecture and development in wheat and barley. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY 2019; 61:296-309. [PMID: 30325110 PMCID: PMC6900778 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Modifications of inflorescence architecture have been crucial for the successful domestication of wheat and barley, which are central members of the Triticeae tribe that provide essential grains for the human diet. Investigation of the genes and alleles that underpin domestication-related traits has provided valuable insights into the molecular regulation of inflorescence development of the Triticeae, and further investigation of modified forms of architecture are proving to be equally fruitful. The identified genes are involved in diverse biological processes, including transcriptional regulation, hormone biosynthesis and metabolism, post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation, which alter inflorescence architecture by modifying the development and fertility of lateral organs, called spikelets and florets. Recent advances in sequencing capabilities and the generation of mutant populations are accelerating the identification of genes that influence inflorescence development, which is important given that genetic variation for this trait promises to be a valuable resource for optimizing grain production. This review assesses recent advances in our understanding of the genes controlling inflorescence development in wheat and barley, with the aim of highlighting the importance of improvements in developmental biology for optimizing the agronomic performance of staple crop plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Gauley
- Department of Crop GeneticsJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UHUnited Kingdom
| | - Scott A. Boden
- Department of Crop GeneticsJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UHUnited Kingdom
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