Effects of the semi-dwarfing sdw1/denso gene in barley

Abstract

Recent advances in cereal genomics have made it possible to analyse the architecture of cereal genomes and their expressed components, leading to an increase in our knowledge of those genes that are associated with the key agronomical traits. Presently, use of a dwarfing gene in breeding process is crucial for the development of modern cultivars. In barley, more than 30 types of dwarfs or semi-dwarfs have been hitherto described. However, only a few of them have been successfully used in barley breeding programs. Both breeding and molecular mapping experiments were undertaken to enhance and evaluate the performance of semi-dwarf barley lines. The semi-dwarfing cultivars had improved lodging resistance and a higher harvest index. There have been a lot of investigations that have contributed new information to our basic understanding of the mechanisms underlying growth regulations in barley. This paper reviews semi-dwarfing genes in barley in general and special attention is paid to mapping of the sdw1/denso locus, changes in protein abundance and associations of the semi-dwarfness with gibberellins.

Evaluating Barley for the Emerging Craft Malting Industry in Western Washington

“…Cultivars such as Full Pint with a semi-dwarf growth habit did not have longer days to heading as has been observed in other studies (Kuczyńska et al, 2013).…”

“…There was a significant positive correlation between lodging and height (r = 0.33, P ≤ 0.01; Table 3) though the low r value indicates a large portion of variance in lodging is explained by factors other than height. Given the potential for lodging in high yield growing environments (Robertson and Stark, 2003), the selection of semi-dwarf varieties may be an important selection criteria for increasing regional production (Kuczyńska et al, 2013). For the …”

Spring barley stand structure as an indicator of lodging risk

“…At higher nitrogen levels, plant height and fresh weight of productive tillers increased. Plant height appears to be the major contributor to lodging tolerance (Chen et al, 2013;Kuczyńska et al, 2013;Ren et al, 2014). In previous study, lodging severity in shortstem varieties was very low and no significant variation was observed for yield and lodging scores while plant height was strongly correlated with lodging scores at all growth stages (Navabi et al, 2006).…”

“…Two forms of lodging in cereals are known, the first caused by stem fragility and the second by poor root development -thus indicating those factors needing to be adjusted (Ennos, 1991). Plant breeders, have reduced lodging risk by introducing dwarfing genes to produce shorter varieties (Chen et al, 2013;Kuczyńska et al, 2013;Ren et al, 2014) and by increasing stem strength (Ma, 2009), e.g., by higher starch accumulation (Kashiwagi et al, 2006). Structural carbohydrates (cellulose and lignin) should also play an important role for stem strength (Ma, 2009).…”

QTL mapping uncovers a semi-dwarf 1 (sdw1) allele in the barley (Hordeum vulgare) ND23049 line

“…In contrast, semi-dwarfing genes are largely used in modern barley breeding all over the world (Kuczyńska et al 2013;Wang et al 2014). The semi-dwarf trait results in strong stalks with improved lodging resistance and an increased harvest index (Kuczyńska et al 2013). …”