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An international team of researchers under the leadership of Dr. habil. Thorsten Schnurbusch, head of the independent HEISENBERG-Research Group „Plant Architecture“ at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), and his fellow Dr. Helmy Youssef published their findings about molecular and hormonal mechanism essential for the regulation of inflorescence and shoot development in barley in the renowned scientific journal ‘Nature Genetics’.
The typical patterning of cereals such as barley which develops a regular two- or six-row arrangement of grains, has a considerable influence on its yield. Despite the clear agronomic and economic implications of the architecture of crop plants, only little molecular information is available about how grain-bearing inflorescences, called spikes, are formed and maintain their regular, distichous pattern.
Dr. habil. Thorsten Schnurbusch, Dr. Helmy Youssef and their Japaneese and Swedish partners elucidated the molecular and hormonal role of the Six-rowed spike 2 (Vrs2) — a SHORT INTERNODES (SHI) transcriptional regulator during barley inflorescence and shoot development. Their study shows that Vrs2 is specifically involved in floral organ patterning and phase duration by maintaining hormonal homeostasis and gradients (auxins, gibberellic acid and cytokinins) during normal spike development; but similarly influenced plant stature traits.
„These new findings do not only help us to understand the development and maintenance of the regular and distichous pattern of grain-bearing inflorescences in barley. They also may have implications for deeper molecular insights into crops’ inflorescence and plant architecture,“ said Thorsten Schnurbusch, leader of the project and head of the independent research Group ‘Plant Architecture’ at IPK. Helmy Youssef, lead autor of the article adds: „Our results are interesting from a scientific point of view, bu they may also offer a resource for new breeding strategies adressing crop yield and therefore societal and economic challenges.“
Futher analysis established a link between the SHI-protein family, which have also been found in other cereals, and sucrose metabolism during organ growth and development. This may indicate, that the new findings are not only of importance for the understanding of spike development in barley but also in other important crops such as wheat, rice and maize.
Publikation:
VRS2 regulates hormone-mediated inflorescence patterning in barley, Helmy M. Youssef et al. (2015), Nature Genetics, DOI: 10.1038/ng.3717
Dr. habil. Thorsten Schnurbusch, head of the independent HEISENBER-research group „Plant Architectur ...
Sebastian Mast/ IPK
None
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Biologie, Tier / Land / Forst, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
Englisch
Dr. habil. Thorsten Schnurbusch, head of the independent HEISENBER-research group „Plant Architectur ...
Sebastian Mast/ IPK
None
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