Cultivated Barley Research Articles

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Hordeum distichon (Poales: Poaceae)

Hordeum distichon (H. distichon) is a two-row cultivated barley used as food and as a feed crop. Chloroplast genome is an excellent way to study the genetic structure and evolutionary process of natural population of plant species in recent years. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of H. distichon was sequenced and analyzed: the size of the chloroplast genome is 136,462 bp in length, including a large single copy region (LSC) of 80,597 bp, a small single copy region (SSC) of 12,701 bp, and a pair of inverted repeated regions (IR) of 21,582 bp; the H. distichon chloroplast genome encodes 129 genes, including 83 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes; the overall GC-content of the chloroplast genome was 38.32%, with the LSC, SSC, and IR regions being 36.31%, 32.33%, and 43.83%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on 32 species with the maximum likelihood (ML) method indicated that H. distichon was closely related to Hordeum vulgare.

Genome-wide identification of expansin gene family in barley and drought-related expansins identification based on RNA-seq.

Expansins are cell wall loosening proteins and involved in various developmental processes and abiotic stress. No systematic research, however, has been conducted on expansin genes family in barley. A total of 46 expansins were identified and could be classified into three subfamilies in Hordeum vulgare: HvEXPA, HvEXPB, and HvEXLA. All expansin proteins contained two conserved domains: DPBB_1 and Pollen_allerg_1. Expansins, in the same subfamily, share similar motifs composition and exon-intron organization; but greater differences were found among different subfamilies. Expansins are distributed unevenly on 7 barley chromosomes; tandem duplicates, including the collinear tandem array, contribute to the forming of the expansin genes family in barley with few whole-genome duplication events. Most HvEXPAs mainly expressed in embryonic and root tissues. HvEXPBs and HvEXLAs showed different expression patterns in 16 tissues during different developmental stages. In response to water deficit, expansins in wild barley were more sensitive than that in cultivated barley; the expressions of HvEXPB5 and HvEXPB6 were significantly induced in wild barley under drought stress. Our study provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the barley expansin genes in genome-wide level. This information will lay a solid foundation for further functional exploration of expansin genes in plant development and drought stress tolerance.

Evaluation of a Set of Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum Accessions for β-Glucans and Microelement Contents

Barley is one of the oldest domesticated crops in the world and is mainly used for feed and malt and to a lesser extent as food. The use of barley as food is a tradition in communities in some countries of North Africa, Europe, and Asia. However, due to the health-promoting properties of barley grain, there is an increasing interest in such use. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has a global mandate for barley improvement and holds rich in-trust collections of cultivated and wild Hordeum species. The present study aims to evaluate 117 accessions of Hordeum spontaneum for their contents of β-glucan and microelements for breeding new varieties with enhanced nutritional value. The bulked seed accessions of Hordeum spontaneum were grown over two seasons, and the single plant derived seeds from these accessions were compared to 36 elite lines and varieties of cultivated barley in the second season in Morocco. The results showed large differences in β-glucan and microelements in both the bulk and the single plant seed accessions. The contents of β-glucans ranged from 1.44 to 11.3% in the Hordeum spontaneum accessions and from 1.62 to 7.81% in the cultivated barley lines. Large variations were found for the microelements content, but no differences were noticed between the wild and the cultivated species. However, some accessions of Hordeum spontaneum had higher combined contents of Iron, Zinc, and Selenium. Such accessions are used in interspecific crosses to develop biofortified barley germplasm and varieties.

Molecular diversity of Azerbaijani wild and cultivated barley genotypes

In this study the genetic diversity of Azerbaijan barley, nuclear genomes of 13 cultivated and 9 wild barley accessions were analyzed at population and individual levels using twenty ISSR primers. In total, 304 fragments were amplified, of which 263 were found to be polymorphic. High genetic diversity indices for ISSR markers (0.714) suggested that this method was equally effective in determining genetic variation in barley accessions. The highest and the lowest similarity indexes were equal to 0.92 and 0.20, respectively. Cluster analysis based on Nei’s genetic distance values showed that genotypes could be grouped into seven main clusters. Furthermore, no differences between the wild and cultivated barley accessions were revealed. Screening a higher number of anonymous loci in barley using ISSR markers will enable the selection of the best parent cultivars for the development of novel varieties

Genetic Mapping Reveals Novel Exotic and Elite QTL Alleles for Salinity Tolerance in Barley

Soil salinity is one of the constraints of crop production in Egypt. The aims of this study were to identify genomic regions associated with grain weight and its related traits along with their salinity tolerance indices and to identify the most salinity tolerant and high-yielding genotypes. Therefore, we evaluated an advanced backcross mapping population of barley in newly reclaimed soil under two salinity levels of groundwater aquifers in South of Sinai, Egypt. We detected significant QTL associated with grain weight related attributes and the salinity tolerance index (STI) distributed throughout the whole genome of barley, which can be used to enhance salinity tolerance. Moreover, the markers bPb-3739 (4H, 96.3 cM), AF043094A (5H, 156 cM), bPb-8161 (7H, 2.22 cM), and bPb-5260 (7H, 115.6 cM), were the most important identified genomic regions corresponding to vernalization, dwarfing and dehydrin genes, which are correlated with salinity tolerance. Additionally, the doubled haploid lines SI001, SI043, SI044, SI028, SI242, SI035, and SI005 had the highest STI values based on yield average. The present study demonstrated that wild and elite barley do harbor novel valuable alleles, which can enrich the genetic basis of cultivated barley and improve quantitative agronomic traits under salinity conditions.

Resource potential of soft spring wheat varieties for the conditions of Western Siberia and Omsk region (analytical review)

The article is devoted to the review and analysis of varietal resources of soft spring wheat cultivated in the conditions of Western Siberia. For 2020, 261 varieties of this crop are included into the State Register of the Russian Federation, including 97 varieties (36.8 %) created by breeders of 15 institutions in the West Siberian region. In the Omsk region, depending on the climatic zone, the largest areas are occupied by the following varieties: mid-early – Omskaya 36 (242.16 thousand hectares), Pamyati Azieva (59.94 thousand hectares), Boevchanka (48.27 thousand hectares), Novosibirskaya 31 (36.3 thousand hectares); mid-season – Omskaya 38 (82.91 thousand hectares), OmGAU 90 (52.84 thousand hectares), Sigma (49.99 thousand hectares), Altaiskaya zhnitsa (35.2 thousand hectares); mid-late – Uralosibirskaya (145.72 thousand hectares), Melodiya (59.53 thousand hectares), Omskaya 28 (57.41 thousand hectares), Pavlogradka (67.31 thousand hectares), Element 22 (65.87 thousand hectares), Omskaya 35 (41.7 thousand ha). The joint creation of varieties with scientists from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences made it possible to use, along with collection samples and selection varieties, alloplasmatic introgressive lines of soft wheat carrying the cytoplasm of the cultivated barley Hordeumvulgare L. As the result, there have been developed Sigma, Uralosibirskaya 2, Ishimskaya 11 and Sakmara varieties with a high level of resistance to stem and leaf rust and a medium level to powdery mildew. Due to the massive increase of the leaf and stem rust, varieties with a high level of resistance to these pathogens have been created and recommended for cultivation – Omskaya 38, Sigma, Uralosibirskaya, Uralosibirskaya 2 and Element 22. In the main grain-growing soil-climatic territories of the Omsk region, 15 droughts have been recorded over the past 45 years. Thus, a method for in vitro testing of drought resistance has been developed. Varieties with increased drought resistance and high level of stem rust resistance (Omskaya 37, Omskaya 38, Uralosibirskaya and Omskaya 42) in drought-specific and epiphytotic 2020 exceeded the standard varieties by 0.90-1.74 t / ha in yield. Of special interest among new varieties are Omskaya 42, Uralosibirskaya 2, OmGAU 100, Stolypinskaya 2, Lider 80 and Omskaya 44. It is concluded that close cooperation with Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific institutions is necessary in order to create varieties that combine increased productivity with resistance to unfavorable biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

Assessment of genetic diversity in chinese hulless barley accessions for qualitative traits

Cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been proven to be an economically important model plant and having large genetic diversity among the species. The effective exploitation of qualitative characters in barley can be measured by its genetic diversity and interrelationship. This study aims to determine the assessment of genetic diversity in Chinese hulless barley accessions for qualitative traits. Presently, in this study, the genetic diversity of 208 Chinese hulless barley from different Provinces of China, 111 genotypes were from the Tibet plateau, 30 Sichuan, 2 USA, 1 Canada, 12 Gansu, 51 Qinghai, 1 Yunnan was investigated; collected. Almost all the qualitative traits including crude protein, fiber, starch, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber exhibited significantly high variability (p≤0.0001) among the cultivars. The data were analyzed using Statistics 8.1. In this study, significantly high variation was observed between starch content and neutral detergent fiber (23.64% and 11.54%). However, the highest diversity is based on the magnitude of the coefficient of variation exhibited in crude protein (13.82%), starch (12.87%), and fiber (12.17%). There was a significantly positive correlation between fiber, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber except for starch content with crude protein and fiber that exhibited a significant negative correlation (r= -0.38*** and r= -0.92***). A large genetic diversity was observed through cluster analysis among all the 208 barley accessions, distance coefficient ranging between 0.28 and 75.86. The histogram revealed that frequency distributions of 208 different genotypes of hulless barley crop with all five different characters, crude protein, fiber, starch, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber, showed normal distribution. It is concluded that this hulless barley study showed genetic diversity among the accessions and confirmed genetic diversity in various traits used.

Evaluating the genetic effects of seed dormancy regulatory genes Qsd1 and Qsd2 in a global collection of cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) with functional kompetitive allele‐specific PCR markers

AbstractSeed dormancy is agronomically important trait that associates with plant survival and seed production. Wild species present long dormancy to protect their seeds from unfavourable climate conditions until the next growing season. In contrast, shortened dormancy extends crop adaptability and promotes crop rotation in agriculture. However, the shortened dormancy brought about the risk of preharvest sprouting (PHS) on cereal crops in temperate and subtropical regions. Recently, two major quantitative genetic loci Qsd1 and Qsd2 that control the seed dormancy in barley have been cloned. In this study, two kompetitive allele‐specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed and applied in a genotypic survey among 859 accessions of cultivated barley. Long‐dormancy‐associated alleles at both loci were over‐represented within East Asian accessions. Both Qsd1 and Qsd2 had significant genetic effects on seed dormancy variations in cultivated barley. Thus, the two KASP markers could be applied in selecting favourable alleles in breeding practice to optimize the seed dormancy duration.

Rhizosphere Soil Quality of Different Cultivated and Wild Barley Genotypes as Evaluated Using Physical and Chemical Indicators

Rhizosphere Soil Quality of Different Cultivated and Wild Barley Genotypes as Evaluated Using Physical and Chemical Indicators

Conceptual approaches to rehabilitation of pesticide-polluted soils of Ukraine

The Concept of Rehabilitation of Contaminated Soils has been developed, which substantiates the ways to restore areas contaminated with persistent organic pesticides. The practical implementation of the Concept will contribute to the transfer of existing land use systems to the principles of sustainable agricultural development, as well as the preservation, reproduction and expansion of biodiversity, as well as improving the environmental safety of agro-ecosystems for sustainable development of the Agrosphere. The Concept combines ways of practical implementation of environmentally friendly methods of cleaning pesticide-contaminated areas and further use of rehabilitated land in the process of agricultural activity in Ukraine. The problem of pesticide pollution of agroecosystems is proposed to be solved by using scientifically sound ecologically safe methods of soil remediation with multicomponent pesticide pollution developed at the Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of NAAS, in particular using bioremediation methods. The following are proposed for use: methods of agroecological monitoring of areas contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, methods of phytotesting and phytoremediation of soils contaminated with resistant pesticides. For phytoremediation of contaminated soils, it is proposed to use annual cultivated (barley, wheat, beans, soybeans, zucchini, pumpkin) and wild (dandelion, bitter wormwood, common wormwood, wheatgrass) species of plant-mediators, which are suitable for phytostabilation and in the conditions of multicomponent soil pollution. The main stages of the Concept implementation are: complex agroecological monitoring of soils contaminated with residues of persistent organic pollutants (POPs); comprehensive ecotoxicological assessment of soil condition; determining the degree of chemical degradation of soils; adaptation of remediation technologies to the specifics of the area in need of cleaning; introduction of ecologically safe remediation methods into practical use; realization of prospects of further use of rehabilitated soils in various branches of agriculture; taking into account the ecological and economic efficiency of the use of remediation methods. Possibility and ways of using restored areas in the process of agricultural activity, taking into account the main stages of implementation of the Concept are set out in the developed in the Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of NAAS «Scientific and methodological recommendations for restoration of soil contaminated with organochlorine pesticides depending on their toxicity» and «Scientific and methodological recommendations for the use of restored areas in the process of agricultural activity».

Tolerance to high temperature at reproductive stage: Trade‐offs between phenology, grain yield and yield‐related traits in wild and cultivated barleys

AbstractHigh‐temperature stress at the reproductive stage poses a substantial constraint on cereal production worldwide. This study was conducted to assess tolerance to terminal high‐temperature stress in 45 wild (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum) genotypes, four cultivars (H. vulgare ssp. vulgare), 98 F3 and 79 BC1F2 families derived from hybridization of a high‐temperature tolerant wild genotype and a susceptible cultivar ‘Mona’. Results of analysis of variance showed significant genotypic and high‐temperature stress effects on all the traits studied. Approximately one quarter of the wild genotypes originating from a warmer climate were slightly affected by high‐temperature stress. Grain yield strongly correlated (p < .01) with stress tolerance, yield stability and heat tolerance indices. The reduction in the reproduction period caused by high temperature was much higher in cultivated genotypes than in wild ones. Grain number and weight were the most effective yield components to screen high‐temperature tolerant F3 and BC1F2 families. In conclusion, strategies like escape/avoidance are being used primarily to cope with heat stress by cultivars, whereas adaptive strategies such as tolerance are being implemented by wild barley.

Chromosome-scale assembly of wild barley accession "OUH602".

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) was domesticated from its wild ancestral form ca. 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and is widely cultivated throughout the world, except for in tropical areas. The genome size of both cultivated barley and its conspecific wild ancestor is approximately 5 Gb. High-quality chromosome-level assemblies of 19 cultivated and one wild barley genotype were recently established by pan-genome analysis. Here, we release another equivalent short-read assembly of the wild barley accession “OUH602.” A series of genetic and genomic resources were developed for this genotype in prior studies. Our assembly contains more than 4.4 Gb of sequence, with a scaffold N50 value of over 10 Mb. The haplotype shows high collinearity with the most recently updated barley reference genome, “Morex” V3, with some inversions. Gene projections based on “Morex” gene models revealed 46,807 protein-coding sequences and 43,375 protein-coding genes. Alignments to publicly available sequences of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones of “OUH602” confirm the high accuracy of the assembly. Since more loci of interest have been identified in “OUH602,” the release of this assembly, with detailed genomic information, should accelerate gene identification and the utilization of this key wild barley accession.

Financial and Economic Evaluation of Cultivar Barley in The Southern Red Sea Governorate

The research aimed to study the financial evaluation of the cultivar barley units in the Shalateen area in the Red Sea Governorate, as one of the means used in providing green fodder for animal feeding, especially sheep, goats and camels. The research led to a set of results, including: (1) net present value when the discount rate is 9% about 2.445 million pounds, which indicates the feasibility of investment in this activity. (2) the internal rate of Return(IRR) was about 33.53%, which is more than the borrowing interest of the capital represented by the prevailing commercial interest rate, which confirms the feasibility of investing in the activity of cultivated barley. (3) the benifit cost ratio was estimated at 1.176 any larger than one, which indicates the feasibility of the investment. (4) the Pay-back Period (PBP) was estimated at 1.714 years, which indicates the possibility of recovering the invested capital within two years from the start of the project . (5) the return on investment rate was about 27.12 %.(6) sensitivity analysis of barley cultivation units has been carried out, however, the internal rate of Return is still greater than the opportunity cost of capital investment in the community and therefore it is recommended to make the decision to accept investment in barley cultivation units. Therefore, the research recommends the need for expansion in the cultivation of cultivar barley, especially in desert areas with low pastoral Plants.

Genome-Wide Characterization of WRKY Transcription Factors Revealed Gene Duplication and Diversification in Populations of Wild to Domesticated Barley.

The WRKY transcription factors (WRKYs) are known for their crucial roles in biotic and abiotic stress responses, and developmental and physiological processes. In barley, early studies revealed their importance, whereas their diversity at the population scale remains hardly estimated. In this study, 98 HsWRKYs and 103 HvWRKYs have been identified from the reference genome of wild and cultivated barley, respectively. The tandem duplication and segmental duplication events from the cultivated barley were observed. By taking advantage of early released exome-captured sequencing datasets in 90 wild barley accessions and 137 landraces, the diversity analysis uncovered synonymous and non-synonymous variants instead of loss-of-function mutations that had occurred at all WRKYs. For majority of WRKYs, the haplotype and nucleotide diversity both decreased in cultivated barley relative to the wild population. Five WRKYs were detected to have undergone selection, among which haplotypes of WRKY9 were enriched, correlating with the geographic collection sites. Collectively, profiting from the state-of-the-art barley genomic resources, this work represented the characterization and diversity of barley WRKY transcription factors, shedding light on future deciphering of their roles in barley domestication and adaptation.

Endopolyploidy Variation in Wild Barley Seeds across Environmental Gradients in Israel.

Wild barley is abundant, occupying large diversity of sites, ranging from the northern mesic Mediterranean meadows to the southern xeric deserts in Israel. This is also reflected in its wide phenotypic heterogeneity. We investigated the dynamics of DNA content changes in seed tissues in ten wild barley accessions that originated from an environmental gradient in Israel. The flow cytometric measurements were done from the time shortly after pollination up to the dry seeds. We show variation in mitotic cell cycle and endoreduplication dynamics in both diploid seed tissues (represented by seed maternal tissues and embryo) and in the triploid endosperm. We found that wild barley accessions collected at harsher xeric environmental conditions produce higher proportion of endoreduplicated nuclei in endosperm tissues. Also, a comparison of wild and cultivated barley strains revealed a higher endopolyploidy level in the endosperm of wild barley, that is accompanied by temporal changes in the timing of the major developmental phases. In summary, we present a new direction of research focusing on connecting spatiotemporal patterns of endoreduplication in barley seeds and possibly buffering for stress conditions.

The Analysis of The Process of Barley Grain Separation from Undesirable Particles

The article focuses on the intensification of raw barley grains initial purification and separation processes before the subsequentprocessing in the area of brewing. Above all, it deals with the physical and mechanical concepts of the purification and separationof qualitatively satisfactory grains from undesirable impurities, e.g. coarse impurities, as the prevention from the potential damageof milling and scrapping facilities. Four different cultivated barley species were tested within the study. Physical and mechanicalparameters were determined in all samples, for instance powder density, angle of internal friction and external friction angle withsteel contact material, particle size distribution and morphology. The first results of measuring revealed the difference in the qualityof initial entering component of barley grains before the purification process compared to the output quality of grains after machinepurification and separation processes in the facilities determined for the subsequent grain storage. As a result of the non-effectiveprocess of separation, the final quality of the product, i.e. the beer, may be affected by the qualitative parameters of partial processesinvolved in treating barley grains.

Review on Structure, Functional and Nutritional Composition of Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

Barley is a resilient plant, tolerant of a range of conditions, which may have been cultivated since 15 000 BC (Fast & Caldwell, 2000). Cultivated barley, Hordeum vulgare, is mainly grown for animal feed, especially for pigs, for malting and brewing in the manufacture of beer, and distilling in whisky manufacture. A small amount of barley is used for food. Barley is one of the leading grain crops produced in the world with growing worldwide recognized as a source of food and many valuable nutritional components that enrich the human diet. Barley grain is used primarily for malting and livestock feeding, and the straw is also an important feedstuff when more desirable forages are not available

Episodes of gene flow and selection during the evolutionary history of domesticated barley

BackgroundBarley is one of the founder crops of Neolithic agriculture and is among the most-grown cereals today. The only trait that universally differentiates the cultivated and wild subspecies is ‘non-brittleness’ of the rachis (the stem of the inflorescence), which facilitates harvesting of the crop. Other phenotypic differences appear to result from facultative or regional selective pressures. The population structure resulting from these regional events has been interpreted as evidence for multiple domestications or a mosaic ancestry involving genetic interaction between multiple wild or proto-domesticated lineages. However, each of the three mutations that confer non-brittleness originated in the western Fertile Crescent, arguing against multiregional origins for the crop.ResultsWe examined exome data for 310 wild, cultivated and hybrid/feral barley accessions and showed that cultivated barley is structured into six genetically-defined groups that display admixture, resulting at least in part from two or more significant passages of gene flow with distinct wild populations. The six groups are descended from a single founding population that emerged in the western Fertile Crescent. Only a few loci were universally targeted by selection, the identity of these suggesting that changes in seedling emergence and pathogen resistance could represent crucial domestication switches. Subsequent selection operated on a regional basis and strongly contributed to differentiation of the genetic groups.ConclusionsIdentification of genetically-defined groups provides clarity to our understanding of the population history of cultivated barley. Inference of population splits and mixtures together with analysis of selection sweeps indicate descent from a single founding population, which emerged in the western Fertile Crescent. This founding population underwent relatively little genetic selection, those changes that did occur affecting traits involved in seedling emergence and pathogen resistance, indicating that these phenotypes should be considered as ‘domestication traits’. During its expansion out of the western Fertile Crescent, the crop underwent regional episodes of gene flow and selection, giving rise to a modern genetic signature that has been interpreted as evidence for multiple domestications, but which we show can be rationalized with a single origin.

Phytolith analyses from Khil and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Western Maghreb): Plant use trajectories in a long-term perspective

In this paper we present the results of phytolith investigations at two archaeological sites in northwestern Morocco: Khil (Tangier) and Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Tétouan). The two sites located in Western Maghreb, one on the Atlantic and one on the Mediterranean coast, were investigated in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED project. Phytolith analysis complemented archaeobotanical, geoarchaeological and archaeological investigations to better identify plant use during the entire occupation sequence. At Khil 16 samples have been studied, coming from two profiles excavated in two different caves of the same system – grotte B and grotte C – that span a chronology comprised between the early Neolithic and the historic period. At Kaf Taht el-Ghar, 15 samples were analysed spanning from the Palaeolithic to the Historic period.Results show that at Khil plants are widely used from the very beginning of the Early Neolithic sequence. The surrounding vegetation was exploited and both C3 and C4 grasses were used, inside the cave. At the same time a wide array of other plants was utilised, such as palms and woody taxa. Phytolith analysis at the site of Kaf Taht el-Ghar indicates that crop processing was most probably not taking place on site. However, the predominance in the samples of C3 grasses morphologies agrees with the finding of previous macro botanical studies that identified cultivated wheat and barley in this cave deposits. A very interesting aspect of the phytolith assemblages of Kaf Taht el-Ghar is the widespread use of palm leaves and their gradual disappearance through time that coincides with an increase in the use of woody species.

The effect of artificial lights on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sprouts

The effect of artificial lights on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L.) sprouts