The dwarfing gene sdw1 has been widely used throughout the world to develop commercial barley varieties. There are at least four different alleles at the sdw1 locus. Mutations in the gibberellin 20-oxidase gene (HvGA20ox2) resulted in multiple alleles at the sdw1 locus. The sdw1.d allele from Diamant is due to a 7-bp deletion in exon 1, while the sdw1.c allele from Abed Denso has 1-bp deletion and a 4-bp insertion in the 5’ untranslated region. The sdw1.a allele from Jotun resulted from a total deletion of the HvGA20ox2 gene. The structural changes result in lower gene expression in sdw1.d and lack of expression in sdw1.a. There are three HvGA20ox genes in the barley genome. The partial or total loss of function of the HvGA20ox2 gene could be compensated by enhanced expression of its homolog HvGA20ox1and HvGA20ox3. A diagnostic molecular marker was developed to differentiate between the wild-type, sdw1.d and sdw1.a alleles and another molecular marker for differentiation of sdw1.c and sdw1.a. The markers were further tested in 197 barley varieties, out of which 28 had the sdw1.d allele and two varieties the sdw1.a allele. To date, the sdw1.d and sdw1.a alleles have only been detected in the modern barley varieties and lines. The results provided further proof that the gibberellin 20-oxidase gene (HvGA20ox2) is the functional gene of the barley sdw1 mutants. Different deletions resulted in different functional alleles for different breeding purposes. Truncated protein could maintain partial function. Partial or total loss of function of the HvGA20ox2 gene could be compensated by enhanced expression of its homolog HvGA20ox1 and HvGA20ox3.

Wheat seed development is an important physiological process of seed maturation and directly affects wheat yield and quality. In this study, we performed dynamic transcriptome microarray analysis of an elite Chinese bread wheat cultivar (Jimai 20) during grain development using the GeneChip Wheat Genome Array. Grain morphology and scanning electron microscope observations showed that the period of 11–15days post-anthesis (DPA) was a key stage for the synthesis and accumulation of seed starch. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling and significance analysis of microarrays revealed that the period from 11 to 15 DPA was more important than the 15–20 DPA stage for the synthesis and accumulation of nutritive reserves. Series test of cluster analysis of differential genes revealed five statistically significant gene expression profiles. Gene ontology annotation and enrichment analysis gave further information about differentially expressed genes, and MapMan analysis revealed expression changes within functional groups during seed development. Metabolic pathway network analysis showed that major and minor metabolic pathways regulate one another to ensure regular seed development and nutritive reserve accumulation. We performed gene co-expression network analysis to identify genes that play vital roles in seed development and identified several key genes involved in important metabolic pathways. The transcriptional expression of eight key genes involved in starch and protein synthesis and stress defense was further validated by qRT-PCR. Our results provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of wheat seed development and the determinants of yield and quality

Kernel number per spike (KNPS) in wheat is a key factor that limits yield improvement. In this study, we genotyped a set of 264 cultivars, and a RIL population derived from the cross Yangmai 13/C615 using the 90K wheat iSelect SNP array. We detected 62 significantly associated signals for kernel number per spike (KNPS) at 47 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci through genome-wide association analysis of data obtained from multiple environments. These loci were on 19 chromosomes, and the phenotypic variation attributable to each one ranged from 1.53-39.52%. Twelve (25.53%) of the loci were also significantly associated with KNPS in the RIL population grown in multiple environments. For example, BS00022896_51-2ATT, BobWhite_c10539_201-2DAA, Excalibur_c73633_120-3BGG and Kukri_c35508_426-7DTT were significantly associated with KNPS in all environments. Our findings demonstrate the effective integration of association mapping and linkage analysis for kernel number per spike, and underpin KNPS as a target trait for marker-assisted selection and genetic fine mapping.

Waxy starch has an important influence on the qualities of breads. Generally, grain weight and yield in waxy wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are significantly lower than in bread wheat. In this study, we performed the first proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses of starch granule-binding proteins by comparing the waxy wheat cultivar Shannong 119 and the bread wheat cultivar Nongda 5181. These results indicate that reduced amylose content does not affect amylopectin synthesis, but it causes significant reduction of total starch biosynthesis, grain size, weight and grain yield. Two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis identified 40 differentially expressed protein (DEP) spots in waxy and non-waxy wheats, which belonged mainly to starch synthase (SS) I, SS IIa and granule-bound SS I. Most DEPs involved in amylopectin synthesis showed a similar expression pattern during grain development, suggesting relatively independent amylose and amylopectin synthesis pathways. Phosphoproteome analysis of starch granule-binding proteins, using TiO₂ microcolumns and LC-MS/MS, showed that the total number of phosphoproteins and their phosphorylation levels in ND5181 were significantly higher than in SN119, but proteins controlling amylopectin synthesis had similar phosphorylation levels. Our results revealed the lack of amylose did not affect the expression and phosphorylation of the starch granule-binding proteins involved in amylopectin biosynthesis.

Summary: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a major cereal grain widely used for livestock feed, brewing malts and human food. Grain yield is the most important breeding target for genetic improvement and largely depends on optimal timing of flowering. Little is known about the allelic diversity of genes that underlie flowering time in domesticated barley, the genetic changes that have occurred during breeding, and their impact on yield and adaptation. Here, we report a comprehensive genomic assessment of a worldwide collection of 895 barley accessions based on the targeted resequencing of phenology genes. A versatile target‐capture method was used to detect genome‐wide polymorphisms in a panel of 174 flowering time‐related genes, chosen based on prior knowledge from barley, rice and Arabidopsis thaliana. Association studies identified novel polymorphisms that accounted for observed phenotypic variation in phenology and grain yield, and explained improvements in adaptation as a result of historical breeding of Australian barley cultivars. We found that 50% of genetic variants associated with grain yield, and 67% of the plant height variation was also associated with phenology. The precise identification of favourable alleles provides a genomic basis to improve barley yield traits and to enhance adaptation for specific production areas.