[Plantsci] Seminar of Roberto Tuberosa today at 4PM in Marley 230

[Melandri, Giovanni - (gmelandri)]

Hi All,

Please join us in person or zoom (https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714, password: spls23) for Dr. Roberto Tuberosa's seminar “Circular genomics for cloning genes and QTLs for root system architecture in durum wheat, barley and maize”.

The seminar is today at 4PM in Marley 230, abstract below.

Hope to see you there!

Best,
Giovanni





Circular genomics for cloning genes and QTLs for root system architecture in durum wheat, barley and maize.

Roberto Tuberosa

Department of Agricultural and Food Science (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Italy.


Haplotype variation of genes and QTLs which shape root system architecture (RSA) greatly affects cereal yield, particularly under conditions of abiotic stress, mainly drought. The genetic dissection of RSA traits is increasingly facilitated by remarkable progresses in phenotyping, sequencing and circular genomics approaches (i.e. from phenotype to sequence and vice-versa) to better dissect the QTLome and understand its functions.

In maize, qRoot-yield-1.06, a major QTL associated with RSA traits and yield was recently cloned adopting shovelomics combined with software-assisted root images analysis. A TILLING-transcriptomics approach identified a SOS-like gene encoding for a sodium/H antiporter as the cause of the QTL effect. Notably, native allelic variation at the SOS-like gene impacts RSA also under non-saline conditions.

In durum wheat, a RIL-based and GWAS-based study on root growth angle (RGA) mapped three major QTLs on chr. 2A, 6A and 7A of which qRGA-6A showed the most notable effects on RGA and grain yield as related to the amount of available moisture. A metaQTL analysis in bread wheat evidenced a notable effect of the same region on grain yield. Positional cloning is in progress for qRGA-6A and KASP markers have been designed and are available for marker-assisted selection. The narrow RGA haplotype was relatively frequent in ICARDA cultivars, while the shallow RGA haplotype was associated to the high-yielding Altar C84, a renown CIMMYT founder.


In barley, a collection of TILLING root mutants from the TILLMore collection has allowed for the cloning of ENHANCED GRAVITROPISM 2 (EGT2) which encodes a STERILE ALPHA MOTIVE-containing protein that controls root growth angle in barley and wheat, hence suggesting that EGT2 is an evolutionary conserved regulator of root growth angle in barley and wheat.

Altogether, our results confirm the value of circular genomics and highlight the availability of a wide range of native and mutant haplotypes for RGA in cereals that could be a valuable target for root-based breeding strategies in cereals.

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