Genetic loci mediating circadian clock output plasticity and crop productivity under barley domestication.

Circadian clock rhythms are shown to be intertwined with crop adaptation. To realize the adaptive value of changes in these rhythms under crop domestication and improvement, there is a need to compare the genetics of clock and yield traits. We compared circadian clock rhythmicity based on Chl leaf fluorescence and transcriptomics among wild ancestors, landraces, and breeding lines of barley under optimal and high temperatures. We conducted a genome scan to identify pleiotropic loci regulating the clock and field phenotypes. We also compared the allelic diversity in wild and cultivated barley to test for selective sweeps. We found significant loss of thermal plasticity in circadian rhythms under domestication. However, transcriptome analysis indicated that this loss was only for output genes and that temperature compensation in the core clock machinery was maintained. Drivers of the circadian clock (DOC) loci were identified via genome-wide association study. Notably, these loci also modified growth and reproductive outputs in the field. Diversity analysis indicated selective sweep in these pleiotropic DOC loci. These results indicate a selection against thermal clock plasticity under barley domestication and improvement and highlight the importance of identifying genes underlying for understanding the biochemical basis of crop adaptation to changing environments.

Genome scan identifies flowering-independent effects of barley HsDry2.2 locus on yield traits under water deficit.

Increasing crop productivity under conditions of climate change requires the identification, selection, and utilization of novel alleles for breeding. In this study, we analysed the genotype and field phenotype of the barley HEB-25 multi-parent mapping population under well-watered and water-limited environments for two years. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) for genotype × environment interactions was performed for 10 traits including flowering time (heading time, HEA) and plant grain yield (PGY). Comparison of the GWAS for traits per se (i.e. regardless of the environment) with a study for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) × environment interactions (Q×E), indicates the prevalence of Q×E mostly for reproductive traits. One Q×E locus on chromosome 2, Hordeum spontaneum Dry2.2 (HsDry2.2), showed a positive and conditional effect on PGY and grain number (GN). The wild allele significantly reduced HEA; however, this earliness was not conditioned by water deficit. Furthermore, BC2F1 lines segregating for the HsDry2.2 locus showed that the wild allele conferred an advantage over the cultivated allele in PGY, GN, and harvest index, as well as modified shoot morphology, a longer grain-filling period, and reduced senescence (only under drought). This suggests the presence of an adaptation mechanism against water deficit rather than an escape mechanism. The study highlights the value of evaluating wild relatives in search of novel alleles and provides clues to resilience mechanisms underlying crop adaptations to abiotic stress.