RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Genome scan identifies flowering-independent effects of barley HsDry2.2 locus on yield traits under water deficit
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 216002
DO 10.1101/216002
A1 Lianne Merchuk-Ovnat
A1 Roi Silberman
A1 Efrat Laiba
A1 Andreas Maurer
A1 Klaus Pillen
A1 Adi Faigenboim
A1 Eyal Fridman
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/11/08/216002.abstract
AB Increasing crop productivity under climate change requires the identification, selection and utilization of novel alleles for breeding. We analyzed the genotype and field phenotype of the barley HEB-25 multi-parent mapping population under well-watered and water-limited (WW and WL) environments for two years. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) for genotype by-environment interactions was performed for ten traits including flowering time (HEA), plant grain yield (PGY). Comparison of the GWAS for traits per-se to that for QTL-by-environment interactions (QxE), indicates the prevalence of QxE mostly for reproductive traits. One QxE locus on chromosome 2, Hordeum spontaneum Dry2.2 (HsDry2.2), showed a positive and conditional effect on PGY and grain number (GN). The wild allele significantly reduced HEA, however this earliness was not conditioned by water deficit. Furthermore, BC2F1 lines segregating for the HsDry2.2 showed the wild allele confers an advantage over the cultivated in PGY, GN and harvest index as well as modified shoot morphology, longer grain filling period and reduced senescence (only under drought), therefore suggesting adaptation mechanism against water deficit other than escape. This study highlights the value of evaluating wild relatives in search of novel alleles and clues to resilience mechanism underlying crop adaptation to abiotic stress.Highlight A flowering-time independent reproductive advantage of wild over cultivated allele under drought identified in a barley GWAS for genotype-by-environment interactions, with modified shoot morphology, reduced senescence and longer grain filling