A major grain protein content locus on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) chromosome 6 influences flowering time and sequential leaf senescence

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2010-06

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Timing of various developmental stages including anthesis and whole-plant (‘monocarpic’) senescence influences yield and quality of annual crops. While a correlation between flowering/seed filling and whole-plant senescence has been observed in many annuals, it is unclear how the gene networks controlling these processes interact. Using near-isogenic germplasm, it has previously been demonstrated that a grain protein content (GPC) locus on barley chromosome 6 strongly influences the timing of post-anthesis flag leaf senescence, with high-GPC germplasm senescing early. Here, it is shown that the presence of high-GPC allele(s) at this locus also accelerates pre-anthesis plant development. While floral transition at the shoot apical meristem (SAM; determined by the presence of double ridges) occurred simultaneously, subsequent development was faster in the high- than in the low-GPC line, and anthesis occurred on average 5 d earlier. Similarly, sequential (pre-anthesis) leaf senescence was slightly accelerated, but only after differences in SAM development became visible. Leaf expression levels of four candidate genes (from a list of genes differentially regulated in post-anthesis flag leaves) were much higher in the high-GPC line even before faster development of the SAM became visible. One of these genes may be a functional homologue of Arabidopsis glycine-rich RNA-binding protein 7, which has previously been implicated in the promotion of flowering. Together, the data establish that the GPC locus influences pre- and post-anthesis barley development and senescence, and set the stage for a more detailed analysis of the interactions between the molecular networks controlling these important life history traits.

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Lacerenza, Joseph A., David L. Parrott, and Andreas M. Fischer. “A Major Grain Protein Content Locus on Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) Chromosome 6 Influences Flowering Time and Sequential Leaf Senescence.” Journal of Experimental Botany 61, no. 11 (June 2010): 3137–3149. doi:10.1093/jxb/erq139.
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