Tibet is one of the centers of domestication of cultivated barley

The Near East Fertile Crescent is well recognized as a primary center of barley origin, diversity, and domestication. A large number of wild barleys have been collected from the Tibetan Plateau, which is characterized by an extreme environment. We used genome-wide diversity array technology markers to analyze the genotypic division between wild barley from the Near East and Tibet. Our results confirmed the existence of Tibetan wild barley and suggested that the split between the wild barleys in the Near East and those in Tibet occurred around 2.76 million years ago (Mya). To test the concept of polyphyletic domestication of barley, we characterized a set of worldwide cultivated barley. Some Chinese hulless and six-rowed barleys showed a close relationship with Tibetan wild barley but showed no common ancestor with other cultivated barley. Our data support the concept of polyphyletic domestication of cultivated barley and indicate that the Tibetan Plateau and its vicinity is one of the centers of domestication of cultivated barley. The current results may be highly significant in exploring the elite germplasm for barley breeding, especially against cold and drought stresses.

Analysis of >1000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in geographically matched samples of landrace and wild barley indicates secondary contact and chromosome-level differences in diversity around domestication genes

Barley is a model species for the investigation of the evolution, adaptation and spread of the world's important crops. In this article, we describe the first application of an oligonucleotide pool assay single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) platform to assess the evolution of barley in a portion of the Fertile Crescent, a key region in the development of farming. A large collection of >1000 genetically mapped, genome-wide SNPs was assayed in geographically matched landrace and wild barley accessions (N=448) from Jordan and Syria. Landrace and wild barley categories were clearly genetically differentiated, but a limited degree of secondary contact was evident. Significant chromosome-level differences in diversity between barley types were observed around genes known to be involved in the evolution of cultivars. The region of Jordan and southern Syria, compared with the north of Syria, was supported by SNP data as a more likely domestication origin. Our data provide evidence for hybridization as a possible mechanism for the continued adaptation of landrace barley under cultivation, indicate regions of the genome that may be subject to selection processes and suggest limited origins for the development of the cultivated crop.

Drought and salt tolerances in wild relatives for wheat and barley improvement

Drought and salinity are the major abiotic stresses that dramatically threaten the food supply in the world. Tribe Triticeae, including wheat and barley, possesses tremendous potential for drought and salt tolerance that has been extensively and practically identified, tested, and transferred to wheat cultivars with proven expression of tolerance in experimental trials. Triticum dicoccoides and Hordeum spontaneum, the progenitors of cultivated wheat and barley, have adapted to a broad range of environments and developed rich genetic diversities for drought and salt tolerances. Drought- and salt-tolerant genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been identified in T. dicoccoides and H. spontaneum and have great potential in wheat and barley improvement. Advanced backcross QTL analysis, the introgression libraries based on wild wheat and wild barley as donors, and positional cloning of natural QTLs will play prevailing roles in elucidating the molecular control of drought and salt tolerance. Combining tolerant genes and QTLs in crop breeding programs aimed at improving tolerance to drought and salinity will be achieved within a multidisciplinary context. Wild genetic resistances to drought and salinity will be shifted in the future from field experiments to the farmer.