CAPITALISE: Harnessing crop photosynthesis using natural allele
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
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
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 increase penetrance of editing events to mature plants.
Collaborators:
Asaph Aharoni (Weizmann Institute, Israel)
Amir Sherman (ARO, Israel)
Ron Bernstein (ARO, Israel)
Funding:
Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Agriculture (EU)
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 increase penetrance of editing events to mature plants.
Collaborators:
Asaph Aharoni (Weizmann Institute, Israel)
Amir Sherman (ARO, Israel)
Ron Bernstein (ARO, Israel)
Funding:
Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Agriculture (EU)
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 high throughput non-invasive phenomics platform for measurements of photosynthesis, growth and circadian clock characteristics. A fresh addition to this project is the first reciprocal doubled hapolid population (DH) made for wild barley, which allows studying the genetic basis of plasticity.
Our analysis is extending beyond the wild gene pool to decipher possible directional or balancing selection under domestication. This is including changes in traits such as the circadian clock, which until recent high-throughput platform (such as our SensyPAM) were developed, they could not be traced easily in larger population of large plants.
Collaborators:
Rachel Green (HUJI, Jerusalem)
Karl Schmid (Hohenheim, Germany)
Stephan Greiner (Max Planck, Golm, Germany)
Pat Hayes (OSU, US)
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 high throughput non-invasive phenomics platform for measurements of photosynthesis, growth and circadian clock characteristics. A fresh addition to this project is the first reciprocal doubled hapolid population (DH) made for wild barley, which allows studying the genetic basis of plasticity.
Our analysis is extending beyond the wild gene pool to decipher possible directional or balancing selection under domestication. This is including changes in traits such as the circadian clock, which until recent high-throughput platform (such as our SensyPAM) were developed, they could not be traced easily in larger population of large plants.
Collaborators:
Rachel Green (HUJI, Jerusalem)
Karl Schmid (Hohenheim, Germany)
Stephan Greiner (Max Planck, Golm, Germany)
Pat Hayes (OSU, US)
Funding:
Israel Science Foundation (ISF)