Barley Parent Research Articles

Protein Bodies at Early Stages of Development in High Lysine Mutant Notch-2 and Parent NP-113 Barley

In barley parent NP-113, endospermic protein bodies originate on rough endoplasmic reticulum, either as electron transluscent vesicles or as very small, spherical, electron dense protein bodies, These are translocated to vacuoles tor enlargement and subsequent storage, Endospermic protein bodies of Notch-2 high lysine mutant are either vacuolar, or confined to distended cisternae of smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Vacuolar protein bodies are of two types one, flocculent, which loosely fill up almost the entire vacuolar space; two, spherical, relatively compact and granular, Protein bodies, confined to smooth endoplasmic reticulum are small, spherical, electron dense or electron transluscent, These protein bodies fuse to form electron dense proteinaceous masses which are deposited in the cytosol due to disruption of the confining smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

Structural genes for alpha-amylases are located on barley chromosomes 1 and 6.

Genomic DNA from six euplasmic wheat-barley addition lines and from the wheat and barley parents were analyzed for the presence of alpha-amylase gene sequences, using plasmid DNAs from two different alpha-amylase cDNA clones as hybridization probes. Barley-specific alpha-amylase gene sequences were detected only in addition lines 1 and 6 carrying barley chromosomes 1 and 6, respectively. One cDNA clone probe hybridized strongly to sequences on chromosome 6 but not to those on chromosome 1. The other cDNA clone probe preferentially hybridized to sequences on chromosome 1. It is concluded that structural genes for alpha-amylases are located on barley chromosomes 1 and 6. alpha-Amylase genes on the same chromosome appear to be closely related to one another but substantially different from those on the other chromosome.

Behavior of intergeneric hybrids between Hordeum vulgare L. (4x) and an Elymus mollis type.

Partially fertile F1 plants were obtained from crosses between synthetic autotetraploid Hordeum vulgare L. (2n=28) and a tetraploid Elymus mollis L. type (2n=28). The F1 plants were about the same size as the barley parent. Spikelets were sometimes altered in arrangement on the rachis, but in general more closely resembled the barley parent than Elymus. The seeds on the selfed F1 spikes were larger and more shriveled than those of autotetraploid barley.Elymus and Hordeum chromosomes could not be distinguished in most of the meiotic cells examined in the tetraploid and triploid hybrids. However, chromosomes of the Elymus parent appeared to be slightly smaller than chromosomes of the barley parent. At least eight of the 14 Hordeum chromosomes paired with eight from Elymus in the tetraploid hybrid (2n=28) and both auto and allo-syndetic pairing were observed. Cytological examinations of microsporocytes from triploid plants (2n=21) obtained from crosses of the tetraploid hybrid (2n=28)×H. vulgare L. (2n=14) showed similar types of chromosome pairing as observed in the tetraploid hybrid.

Evaluation of Early Generation Testing in Spring Barley1

An analysis was made of the combining abilities of bulks in F2 and F3 diallel crosses among 10 barley parents. There were relatively large and significant variances for general combining ability for seed yield, kernel weight, maturity, and plant height. Ratios of general to specific combining ability indicated that most of the genetic variances was associated with general combining ability for these characters. The predictive value with respect to yield and kernel weight of six of the parents and the early‐generation bulks of their crosses was measured by the performance of F5 lines derived from the crosses. The performance of parents themselves, of individual crosses in F2 and F3, as well as in the F2 and F3 parental arrays were all generally reliable as indications of parental prepotency and the potential value of the crosses, although the predictive value of the F2 bulks for seed yield was slightly lower than that of the parents and F3ďs. The performance of F1 topcrosses was of limited value for either yield or kernel weight in evaluating parental prepotency.