Find the "responsible party" for the vertical roots of barley

Find the "responsible party" for the vertical roots of barley

Find the "responsible party" for the vertical roots of barley Find the "responsible party" for the vertical roots of barley

The importance of the root system to crop yield is often underestimated
.

Whether the root system can effectively obtain water and nutrients determines the resilience of important crops to drought and climate change

Researchers from the University of Bonn and the University of Bologna in Italy discovered and described a mutant strain of barley whose roots grow downwards much worse than normal barley
.

This discovery may provide a new direction for cultivating more drought-resistant varieties

Barley is one of the most important grains
.

Its uses range from brewing beer to barley flakes and barley flour

Researchers call this mutant "supergravity", meaning that it follows gravity more strongly than its counterparts
.

They compared the genome of the mutant strain with normal-growing barley and found a mutation on chromosome 5, which they named "enhanced gravity 2" (egt2)

The researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors to artificially create this mutation on normal barley plants, proving that egt2 is indeed responsible for the vertical growth of roots
.

Lead author Gwendolyn K.

Researchers grow barley in germination paper or soil, and use scanners and special software to record the angle of the roots
.

They also used another method: there, barley is grown in special "flower pots" that can be put into an MRI scanner

Compared with normal plants, plants with egt2 mutations are more sensitive to the effects of gravity
.

The researchers proved this by placing the roots of barley seedlings at a 90-degree angle to the direction of gravity

In collaboration with British researchers, the team was able to prove that a very similar mutant also exists in wheat plants
.

Frank Hochholdinger of the Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation at the University of Bonn reports that this means that the gene not only plays an important role in barley, but also plays a role in other important grains, so it is worthy of careful study

This mutation does not happen often, but researchers say its discovery provides a potential starting point for breeding new varieties
.
Hochholdinger explained: "When it comes to using water resources and flowing nutrients at a deeper level, a steeper root system is advantageous
.
On the contrary, a root system that grows in a wider area can penetrate a larger volume of soil and obtain nutrients.
Make the plant more stable
.
” Therefore, which root system provides better conditions for better yield depends on the location of the individual
.
In arid areas, it may be "steep" roots; in areas with less nutrition, it may be shallow, open roots
.

"So far, in the breeding process, the roots have been largely ignored
.
" Hochholdinger said
.
But given climate change, root structure may be very important in the future
.
Therefore, vertical root mutants may play a role in breeding varieties that adapt to climate change
.
(Source: Wang Fang, China Science News)

Related paper information: https://doi.
org/10.
1073/pnas.
2101526118

https://doi.
org/10.
1073/pnas.
2101526118