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Improvement of Endosperm Hydration Counter the Negative Relationship Between Dormancy and Malt Quality in Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
(Wiley, 2024-08) Jensen, Joseph; Uhlmann, Hannah; Lachowiec, Jennifer; Lutgen, Greg; Cook, Jason P.; Yin, Xiang S.; Kephart, Ken; Sherman, Jamie
Dormancy in barley has been thoroughly studied and shown to negatively impact malt quality, resulting in selection against dormancy. However, reduced dormancy coincides with increased preharvest sprout (PHS) risk, thus sparking a new interest in integrating dormancy back into American barley lines if the negative effects of dormancy on malt quality can be overcome. We evaluated the dormancy and hydration index (HYI) in a biparental mapping population to determine the genotypes that would protect against PHS but have good malt quality. We found 4 HYI QTLs and 4 dormancy QTLs, one of which was near the well-described SD2 QTL. The HYI QTLs were pleiotropically related to seed size (1H), dormancy (5H) and malt quality (2H). Lines with dormancy (5H) and increased HYI (2H and 3H) had malt quality similar to nondormant lines while maintaining PHS resistance, suggesting improvements in HYI could be the key to overcoming the negative effects of dormancy in malting.
Establishing an indoor agriculture system at a rural Montana PreK-12 school creates hands-on experiences for college seniors studying horticulture
(Wiley, 2024-07) Tillett, Brandon; Baumbauer, David; Ewen, Julie; Luby, Claire H.
In 2022, seniors studying horticulture at Montana State University (MSU; Bozeman, MT) had the opportunity to participate in a unique community-based learning project in collaboration with the newly built PreK-12 public school in the rural town of Winifred, MT, to establish the greenhouse infrastructure to be used in curriculum at the school. The new greenhouse facility presented an opportunity for Winifred students to not only gain experience growing vegetables, but also to provide a source of fresh vegetables for school lunches and for community members. This course presented two unique opportunities for the MSU horticulture students: (1) to experience problem-solving horticultural challenges through designing and troubleshooting the setup of the cropping systems for the greenhouse and (2) to participate in a course with a real-world impact on improving food security in rural areas of Montana. Over the course of the semester, the MSU students successfully established the infrastructure for the Winifred School greenhouse, which has continued to be integrated into the curriculum as well as providing fresh produce for students and community members. By the end of the course, MSU students demonstrated program learning outcomes including demonstrating the content knowledge and skills necessary to function successfully in a horticultural career and being able to identify and analyze plant growth problems and develop solutions or strategies to solve those problems.
Gender, social, household, and ecological factors influencing wheat trait preferences among the women and men farmers in India
(Frontiers Media SA, 2024-06) Gartuala, Hom N.; Atreya, Kishor; Konath, Noufa C.; Mondal, Suchismita; Singh, Ravi p.
The goal of public breeding programs is to develop and disseminate improved varieties to farmers. This strategy aims at providing farming communities with superior crop varieties than they are growing. However, the strategy rarely considers the needs and preferences of farmers, especially gendered preferences, failing to solve real field problems by addressing the differences and inequalities prevalent in the farming communities. Our research examines how personal, household, agronomic and ecological characteristics of wheat growers in Bihar, India’s eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, affect women and men’s wheat trait choices. Data were obtained from 1,003 households where both male and female respondents from the same household were interviewed. We accounted for 23 traits of wheat from a careful assessment of production, environment, cooking quality, market demand, and esthetic criteria. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine women’s and men’s trait preferences. The results imply that gender influences the preferences of wheat traits. Some traits are favored by both women and men, however, in other instances, there are striking disparities. For example, men choose wheat varieties that are well adapted to extreme climate conditions, have a higher grain yield, and produce chapati with a superior taste, while women prefer wheat types with superior chapati making quality, higher grain yield, and high market prices. Other socioeconomic, agronomic, cultural, and geolocational factors have a considerable impact on trait preferences. These human dimensions of traits preferred by women and men farmers are important for trait combinations to develop breeding product profiles for certain market segments.
QTL mapping reveals malt barley quality improvement in two dryland environments associated with extended grain fill and seminal root traits
(Wiley, 2024-05) Williams, Jessica L.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Lutgen, Greg; Lachowiec, Jennifer; Cook, Jason P.; Jensen, Joseph; Bourgault, Maryse; Sherman, Jamie D.
To achieve malt grade and receive full price, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) crops must meet standards for certain quality traits including percent plump and protein. Terminal drought stress reduces quality and is projected to worsen in barley cultivation areas, underscoring the need for varieties that maintain good malt production with unreliable precipitation. The stay-green trait extends the grain fill phase between heading and maturity and has been linked to stable quality under dry conditions. However, this relationship can be inconsistent and is not well understood. To effectively leverage a longer grain fill phenotype for drought adaptation, a better grasp of its genetics and environmental interaction is needed. Stay-green root system differences have been observed and could be at play. We performed correlation and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis on grain fill duration, grain quality, and seminal root traits using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population segregating for stay-green. Agronomic data were collected in four field trials at two distinct semiarid locations, and roots were measured in a greenhouse assay. Earlier heading and later maturity led to improved quality in both locations and more consistent quality between locations. Earlier heading had a greater influence on quality in the drier environment, while later maturity was more impactful in the less dry environment. We observed co-locations of seminal root trait QTLs with grain fill duration and grain quality. These QTLs lay the groundwork for further investigation into root phenotypes associated with stay-green and the deployment of these traits in breeding for drought adaptation.
Novel alleles of MFT‐A and MFT‐B1 appear to impact wheat preharvest sprouting in Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum ssp. durum
(Wiley, 2024-05) Tillet, Brandon J.; Vetch, Justin M.; Martin, John M.; Giroux, Michael J.
Background and Objectives. Preharvest sprouting (PHS) is the premature germination of seeds, which is often caused by late-season rains after seeds reach physiological maturity. PHS negatively impacts grain yield and end-use quality. Previous studies in spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) have identified that some mutations in the mother of FT and TFL1 gene (MFT) coding sequence decrease seed dormancy and increase wheat PHS. Findings. Here, we report two novel alleles for the MFT-A and two novel alleles for the MFT-B1 homologs in spring bread wheat and durum wheat. Conclusions. A haplotype analysis suggests that TaMFT-3A1b (OQ729929), TaMFT-3B1b (OQ729932) and TdMFT-3B1b (OQ729937) increase PHS susceptibility. It is expected that functional copies of MFT promote seed dormancy. Variant analysis of the novel MFT-A and MFT-B1 alleles in both spring and durum wheat suggest impairment of protein function, therefore a negative impact on seed dormancy. Significance and Novelty: Previously unassessed durum wheat varieties were examined for PHS susceptibility. The information in this study can serve as a resource for spring and durum wheat breeders to make selections for alleles of MFT that impact susceptibility to PHS.
The Grain Number Increase 1 alleles GNI-A1-105Y and -105K increase grain number in spring wheat
(Wiley, 2024-07) Hale, C. O.; Tillet, B. J.; Martin, J. M.; Hogg, A. C.; Giroux, M. J.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has inflorescences made up of multiple spikelets arranged along a central rachis, with each spikelet producing between one and four grains. The Grain Number Increase 1 (GNI-A1) gene wheat directly influences grain number per spikelet and grain size. Three naturally occurring alleles have been described previously: GNI-A1-105N, 105Y, and 105K. This project's goal was to characterize the impact of these alleles within hard red spring wheat cultivars in Montana, where each of the alleles is common. The 105N allele and the 105K allele were compared through analysis of an F5 Vida by Spring-Yellowstone recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, and with near isogenic lines (NILs) derived from the same population. The 105N allele and the 105Y allele were compared with NILs derived from an F4 Lanning by Egan RIL population. We analyzed the impact of each of the three alleles and compared their effects on inflorescence architecture, grain size, grain yield, grain quality, and milling quality under Bozeman, MT, field conditions. Data show that either loss-of-function alleles (105Y and 105K) increased grain number per spikelet by 5% when compared to the more functional allele (105N) across all years and environments tested. Overall grain size was not significantly reduced and there was also not a significant increase in overall grain yield.
Enhanced radiation use efficiency and grain filling rate as the main drivers of grain yield genetic gains in the CIMMYT elite spring wheat yield trial
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-05) Gerard, Guillermo; Mondal, Suchismita; Piñera-Chávez, Francisco; Rivera-Amado, Carolina; Molero, Gemma; Crossa, Jose; Huerta-Espino, Julio; Velu, Govindan; Brau, Hans; Singh, Ravi; Crespo-Herrera, Leonardo
Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple food crop, providing a fifth of food calories and proteins to the world’s human population. Despite the impressive growth in global wheat production in recent decades, further increases in grain yield are required to meet future demands. Here we estimated genetic gain and genotype stability for grain yield (GY) and determined the trait associations that contributed uniquely or in combination to increased GY, through a retrospective analysis of top-performing genotypes selected from the elite spring wheat yield trial (ESWYT) evaluated internationally during a 14-year period (2003 to 2016). Fifty-six ESWYT genotypes and four checks were sown under optimally irrigated conditions in three phenotyping trials during three consecutive growing seasons (2018–2019 to 2020–2021) at Norman E. Borlaug Research Station, Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. The mean GY rose from 6.75 (24th ESWYT) to 7.87 t ha−1 (37th ESWYT), representing a cumulative increase of 1.12 t ha−1. The annual genetic gain for GY was estimated at 0.96% (65 kg ha−1 year−1) accompanied by a positive trend in genotype stability over time. The GY progress was mainly associated with increases in biomass (BM), grain filling rate (GFR), total radiation use efficiency (RUE_total), grain weight per spike (GWS), and reduction in days to heading (DTH), which together explained 95.5% of the GY variation. Regression lines over the years showed significant increases of 0.015 kg m−2 year−1 (p < 0.01), 0.074 g m−2 year−1 (p < 0.05), and 0.017 g MJ−1 year−1 (p < 0.001) for BM, GFR, and RUE_total, respectively. Grain weight per spike exhibited a positive but no significant trend (0.014 g year−1, p = 0.07), whereas a negative tendency for DTH was observed (− 0.43 days year−1, p < 0.001). Analysis of the top ten highest-yielding genotypes revealed differential GY-associated trait contributions, demonstrating that improved GY can be attained through different mechanisms and indicating that no single trait criterion is adopted by CIMMYT breeders for developing new superior lines. We conclude that CIMMYT’s Bread Wheat Breeding Program has continued to deliver adapted and more productive wheat genotypes to National partners worldwide, mainly driven by enhancing RUE_total and GFR and that future yield increases could be achieved by intercrossing genetically diverse top performer genotypes.
Seasonality and alternative floral resources affect reproductive success of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata
(Taylor & Francis, 2024-08) Delphia, Casey M.; Burkle, Laura A.; Botti-Anderson, Joshua M.; O'Neill, Kevin M.
Background: Managed populations of the alfalfa leafcutting bee (ALCB), Megachile rotundata (F.), are often not sustainable. In addition to numerous mortality factors that contribute to this, the dense bee populations used to maximize alfalfa pollination quickly deplete floral resources available to bees later in the summer. Providing alternative floral resources as alfalfa declines may help to improve ALCB reproduction. Methods: We examined the relationship between floral resource availability and ALCB reproduction and offspring condition via (1) a field study using alfalfa plots with and without late-blooming wildflower strips to supply food beyond alfalfa bloom, and (2) a field-cage study in which we provided bees with alfalfa, wildflowers, or both as food resources. Results: In the field study, bee cell production closely followed alfalfa floral density with an initial peak followed by large declines prior to wildflower bloom. Few bees visited wildflower strips, whose presence or absence was not associated with any measure of bee reproduction. However, we found that female offspring from cells provisioned earlier in the season, when alfalfa predominated as a source of provisions, eclosed with greater body sizes and proportion body lipids relative to total body mass. For bees restricted to cages, the proportion of offspring that survived to adults was highest on pure alfalfa diets. Adding wildflowers to cages with alfalfa did not affect adult offspring production or female offspring body size and lipid content. Furthermore, although similar numbers of adults were produced on wildflowers alone as with alfalfa alone, females eclosed with smaller body sizes and lower proportion body lipids on wildflowers despite the higher protein content we estimated for wildflower pollen. We found no evidence that adding the late-season wildflower species that we chose to plant enhanced ALCB offspring numbers. Our results highlight the importance of considering multiple measures of reproductive success, including offspring body size and lipid stores, when designing and evaluating floral resource management strategies for agroecosystems.
Hijacking a rapid and scalable metagenomic method reveals subgenome dynamics and evolution in polyploid plants
(Wiley, 2024-04) Reynolds, Gillian; Mumey, Brendan; Strnadova-Neeley, Veronika; Lachowiec, Jennifer
Premise. The genomes of polyploid plants archive the evolutionary events leading to their present forms. However, plant polyploid genomes present numerous hurdles to the genome comparison algorithms for classification of polyploid types and exploring genome dynamics. Methods. Here, the problem of intra- and inter-genome comparison for examining polyploid genomes is reframed as a metagenomic problem, enabling the use of the rapid and scalable MinHashing approach. To determine how types of polyploidy are described by this metagenomic approach, plant genomes were examined from across the polyploid spectrum for both k-mer composition and frequency with a range of k-mer sizes. In this approach, no subgenome-specific k-mers are identified; rather, whole-chromosome k-mer subspaces were utilized. Results. Given chromosome-scale genome assemblies with sufficient subgenome-specific repetitive element content, literature-verified subgenomic and genomic evolutionary relationships were revealed, including distinguishing auto- from allopolyploidy and putative progenitor genome assignment. The sequences responsible were the rapidly evolving landscape of transposable elements. An investigation into the MinHashing parameters revealed that the downsampled k-mer space (genomic signatures) produced excellent approximations of sequence similarity. Furthermore, the clustering approach used for comparison of the genomic signatures is scrutinized to ensure applicability of the metagenomics-based method. Discussion. The easily implementable and highly computationally efficient MinHashing-based sequence comparison strategy enables comparative subgenomics and genomics for large and complex polyploid plant genomes. Such comparisons provide evidence for polyploidy-type subgenomic assignments. In cases where subgenome-specific repeat signal may not be adequate given a chromosomes' global k-mer profile, alternative methods that are more specific but more computationally complex outperform this approach.
Increasing the scope and scale of agroecology in the Northern Great Plains
(Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems, 2024-04) Maxwell, Bruce D.; Duff, Hannah
Agroecology is a science, practice, and movement that is gaining momentum worldwide. It aims to provide local, stable, and diverse diets through diversified, resilient, and sustainable agricultural practices (Ewert et al. 2023). However, agroecology seeks to address food systems issues by replacing large-scale commodity-based agriculture with something very different. Agroecology is typically discussed within the scope and scale of smallholder farming while failing to address the issues embedded in large-scale commodity-based agriculture. While we do not take issue with an ideal system where food is produced on small farms, it does not need to exclude agroecology applied to current scales of agriculture in regions like the Northern Great Plains (NGP), where agriculture consists of spatially extensive crop and livestock farms. NGP farms have internal sustainability problems and harmful social, racial, and environmental externalities that can be addressed with agroecological principles. Despite the problems, the large scale of NGP agriculture is not likely to change much in coming decades, and so there is an imperative to apply agroecological principles at larger scales to address immediate issues. We emphasize that applying agroecological principles to large-scale farming could increase crop and forage diversity, conserve biodiversity, strengthen cross-boundary and multi-objective ecosystem management, address regional food security, and encourage co-innovation with crop and livestock producers in the NGP (Tittonell, 2020). If agroecologists don’t address the immediate issues of NGP such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, livestock-based protein production, unequal access to nutritious food, agriautomation, and pandemic food system disruption, then we may only expect industrialized agriculture to provide short-sited profit-motivated solutions repeating a pattern of the past.

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