Genetic Factors Associated with Heading Responses Revealed by Field Evaluation of 274 Barley Accessions for 20 Seasons

Kazuhiro Sato; Makoto Ishii; Kotaro Takahagi; Komaki Inoue; Minami Shimizu; Yukiko Uehara-Yamaguchi; Ryuei Nishii; Keiichi Mochida

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101146

Genetic Factors Associated with Heading Responses Revealed by Field Evaluation of 274 Barley Accessions for 20 Seasons

iScience. 2020 Jun 26;23(6):101146. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101146. Epub 2020 May 11.

Authors

Kazuhiro Sato¹, Makoto Ishii², Kotaro Takahagi³, Komaki Inoue⁴, Minami Shimizu⁴, Yukiko Uehara-Yamaguchi⁴, Ryuei Nishii⁵, Keiichi Mochida⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki 710-0046, Japan. Electronic address: kazsato@okayama-u.ac.jp.
² Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki 710-0046, Japan.
³ RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan; Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 244-0813, Japan.
⁴ RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.
⁵ School of Information and Data Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8131, Japan.
⁶ Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki 710-0046, Japan; RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan; Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 244-0813, Japan; RIKEN Baton Zone Program, Yokohama 244-0813, Japan.

Abstract

Heading time is a key trait in cereals affecting the maturation period for optimal grain filling before harvest. Here, we aimed to understand the factors controlling heading time in barley (Hordeum vulgare). We characterized a set of 274 barley accessions collected worldwide by planting them for 20 seasons under different environmental conditions at the same location in Kurashiki, Japan. We examined interactions among accessions, known genetic factors, and an environmental factor to determine the factors controlling heading response. Locally adapted accessions have been selected for genetic factors that stabilize heading responses appropriate for barley cultivation, and these accessions show stable heading responses even under varying environmental conditions. We identified vernalization requirement and PPD-H1 haplotype as major stabilizing mechanisms of the heading response for regional adaptation in Kurashiki.

Keywords: Biological Sciences; Plant Biology; Plant Genetics.