Utilizing cytonuclear diversity for breeding adapted barley
The newly developed Cytoplasmic Multi-Parent populations (CMPP) is utilized for associating nuclear and cytoplasmic diversity with field characteristics. This is including the plasticity of these traits, under different environments. We develop genetic models that show how inclusion of neglected cytonuclear variation not only identify novel causality for grain yield and quality traits , but it also improves the prediction accuracy in genomic selection (Bodenheimer et al., Submitted)
Collaborators:
Dan Koenig (UC Riverside, US)
Christine Diepenbrock (UC Davis)
Funding:
BARD (2021-2027)
Horizon 2020 (EU)
The newly developed Cytoplasmic Multi-Parent populations (CMPP) is utilized for associating nuclear and cytoplasmic diversity with field characteristics. This is including the plasticity of these traits, under different environments. We develop genetic models that show how inclusion of neglected cytonuclear variation not only identify novel causality for grain yield and quality traits , but it also improves the prediction accuracy in genomic selection (Bodenheimer et al., Submitted)
Collaborators:
Dan Koenig (UC Riverside, US)
Christine Diepenbrock (UC Davis)
Funding:
BARD (2021-2027)
Horizon 2020 (EU)
CAPITALISE: Harnessing crop photosynthesis using natural alleles
The Barley1K and newly developed Cytoplasmic Multi-Parent populations (CMPP) are utilized for associating nuclear and cytoplasmic diversity with photosynthesis characteristics. This is including the plasticity of these traits, and their rhythms, under different thermal environments.
Collaborators:
Jeremy Harbinson (Lead PI, Wageningen University, NL)
and the larger CAPITALISE consortium [https://www.capitalise.eu/]
Funding:
Horizon 2020 (EU)
The Barley1K and newly developed Cytoplasmic Multi-Parent populations (CMPP) are utilized for associating nuclear and cytoplasmic diversity with photosynthesis characteristics. This is including the plasticity of these traits, and their rhythms, under different thermal environments.
Collaborators:
Jeremy Harbinson (Lead PI, Wageningen University, NL)
and the larger CAPITALISE consortium [https://www.capitalise.eu/]
Funding:
Horizon 2020 (EU)
RECAS9 : Utility of genome editing for directing recombination and trait mapping
Naturally occuring allele from wild relatives are a precious source for understanding biological phenomenon, as well as to serve for crop improvement. However, the quest for the genes underlying these quantitative trait loci (QTL) is faced with non-random recombination. We develop and implement ways to take advantage of double-strand breaks initiated by the CRISPR-CAS9 for directing recombination and allow finer-mapping of QTL using barley as a model plant. This is including collaborations with engineers to try and overcome technical bottlenecks in tissue culture and with nano-chemists to increase penetration of editing events to mature plants.
Collaborators:
Asaph Aharoni (Weizmann Institute, Israel)
Markita Landry (UC Berkley, US)
Funding:
The Chief Scientist, Ministry of Agriculture
BSF-NSF
Naturally occuring allele from wild relatives are a precious source for understanding biological phenomenon, as well as to serve for crop improvement. However, the quest for the genes underlying these quantitative trait loci (QTL) is faced with non-random recombination. We develop and implement ways to take advantage of double-strand breaks initiated by the CRISPR-CAS9 for directing recombination and allow finer-mapping of QTL using barley as a model plant. This is including collaborations with engineers to try and overcome technical bottlenecks in tissue culture and with nano-chemists to increase penetration of editing events to mature plants.
Collaborators:
Asaph Aharoni (Weizmann Institute, Israel)
Markita Landry (UC Berkley, US)
Funding:
The Chief Scientist, Ministry of Agriculture
BSF-NSF
Environmental Canalization and Evolution of Plasticity
The barley1K sets a model for investigating the radiation and adaptation of plant populations to diverse niches. We found a strong relationship between environmental variation, genetic diversity, and plants responses to changing environments. High-resolution ecogeographic data is utilized to explore the relationship between climatic and soil attributes of the collection sites to the behaviour of the plant in common garden and controlled experiments, including their circadian rhythm. This naturally evolved variation could lead to the identification of rate-limiting pathways on plant productivity and robustness under scenarios of climate change. Tools developed within this project include the SensyPAM, a high throughput non-invasive phenomics platform for measurements of photosynthesis, growth and circadian clock characteristics.
Furthermore, going beyond the wild to interspecific wild-cultivated population (such as the Halle Exotic Barley or the CMPP-see above) allows us to identify surprising loss and gain of plasticity under domestication (Prusty et al., 2021). Another major stabilizing locus is the HvCEN/Dry2.2 on which we linked with fitness stability under drought (Merchuk-Ovant et al., 2018), and recently was found by the Koenig lab to be under selection across a century-scale competition experiment within the barley composite cross II (CCII). We find evidence and study what's more than flowering regulation by the HvCEN that could explain the adaptive value of HvCEN/Dry2.2 under changing environments (Tiwari et al., 2023).
Funding:
Israel Science Foundation (ISF)
The barley1K sets a model for investigating the radiation and adaptation of plant populations to diverse niches. We found a strong relationship between environmental variation, genetic diversity, and plants responses to changing environments. High-resolution ecogeographic data is utilized to explore the relationship between climatic and soil attributes of the collection sites to the behaviour of the plant in common garden and controlled experiments, including their circadian rhythm. This naturally evolved variation could lead to the identification of rate-limiting pathways on plant productivity and robustness under scenarios of climate change. Tools developed within this project include the SensyPAM, a high throughput non-invasive phenomics platform for measurements of photosynthesis, growth and circadian clock characteristics.
Furthermore, going beyond the wild to interspecific wild-cultivated population (such as the Halle Exotic Barley or the CMPP-see above) allows us to identify surprising loss and gain of plasticity under domestication (Prusty et al., 2021). Another major stabilizing locus is the HvCEN/Dry2.2 on which we linked with fitness stability under drought (Merchuk-Ovant et al., 2018), and recently was found by the Koenig lab to be under selection across a century-scale competition experiment within the barley composite cross II (CCII). We find evidence and study what's more than flowering regulation by the HvCEN that could explain the adaptive value of HvCEN/Dry2.2 under changing environments (Tiwari et al., 2023).
Funding:
Israel Science Foundation (ISF)