Genetic and developmental analysis of pre-anthesis phases in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

在谷物育种中，对特定环境的最佳适应和随后的高产潜力主要取决于开花时间。从发育上看，开花(或开花前发育)可分为三个阶段：叶片初生期(LI)、小穗初生期(SI)和小穗生长期(SG)。每个阶段的长度可以根据环境条件(温度和光周期)而变化，并独立地影响开花和随后产量的最终时间。在拟议的项目中，我们将(I)对212个春大麦进行详细的表型分析。在212个大麦品种中，(Ii)利用全基因组范围的标记-性状关联来确定单个花前阶段长度的QTL，以及(Iii)利用大麦、水稻、高粱和短穗麦基因组序列之间的共线性来定位和测序推测的各阶段QTL的候选基因。这将是第一次与大麦或任何其他谷类作物的开花前发育相关的关联/QTL研究。通过更好地理解大麦和其他禾本科作物抽穗期的发育遗传过程，参与早期穗部发育的QTL/基因将对未来微调小粒谷类作物的开花时间做出重要贡献。

In cereal breeding, optimal adaptation to a given environment and subsequently high yield potential is mainly determined by the time of flowering. Developmentally, time to flowering (or pre-anthesis development) can be divided into three phases: the leaf initiation (LI) phase, the spikelet initiation (SI) phase, and the spikelet growth (SG) phase. The length of each phase can vary depending on environmental conditions (temperature and photoperiod) and contributes independently towards final time to flowering and subsequently yield. During the proposed project we will (i) perform detailed phenotypic analyses of 212 spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes for differences in their pre-anthesis development regarding length of the LI, SI and SG phases, (ii) use genome-wide marker-trait associations for the identification of QTL for the length of individual pre-anthesis phases, and (iii) utilize collinearity between barley, rice, Sorghum, and Brachypodium genomic sequences for mapping and sequencing of deduced candidate genes underlying QTL for individual phases in 212 barley genotypes. This would be the first association/QTL study related to the pre-anthesis development in barley or any other cereal crop. QTL/genes involved in early spike development will make an important contribution to future fine-tuning of flowering time in small grain cereal crops by providing a better understanding of the developmental genetic processes underlying heading time in barley and other grasses.