Abstract
Seasonal timing of heading is a critical determinant of yield in barley. Heading date also controls seed-quality traits, and thus is a key agronomic target for modern breeding. Our focus is on the circadian clock as a key driver for when barley heads, with the clock-connected traits of leaf and root architecture and tillering, as well as water-use efficiency (WUE) and stress tolerance. The plant circadian clock provides adaptive benefits in part by coordinating a photoperiodic timer that gauges the prevailing season. Here I will discuss the interplay between exogenous environmental sensing and endogenous responses through a comparison of the profound differences of the clock of barley to Arabidopsis. Relevant wheat and Brachypodium have illustrated the role of the Pooid'y clock on seasonal flowering, and I will highlight areas for future barley considerations based on these comparative findings in Pooideae grasses. We consider it of profound interest to understand how barley responds to its growing season in a given agroclimatic zone. The molecular genetics of photoperiodism in barley is only starting to be understood, and the clock alleles required would uncover advanced genetic states to evaluate the circadian gene-expression network. These revealed alleles are of direct relevance to immediate pre-breeding.
Biography.
Seth J. Davis, Chair of Plant Biology and Professor
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENT
2013-present Chair of Plant Biology and Professor; University of York, York, UK
EDUCATION
2008-2009: University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany (Habilitation in Genetics)
1994-2000: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (Ph.D. in Genetics)
1991-1994: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (B.S. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Minor in Chemistry), Graduated Magna cum Laude
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Using Arabidopsis and barley, we unravel the mechanistic interconnections within the circadian-clock clock. In this there is use of systems modeling, metabolite profiling, cell biology, quantitative genetics and molecular genetics to show how allelic variation in clock genes are associated to developmental and metabolic traits associated to crop yield, particularly in response to climate change.
Link to register at Eventbrite is: Exploring the Pooid'y photoperiodic clock Tickets, Thu 22 Sep 2022 at 14:00 | Eventbrite
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