Gene editing validates a combination that accelerates barley and wheat maturation

Researchers used base editing in barley and wheat to confirm a genetic combination that accelerates flowering and maturation, a Nature study reports. The work experimentally reconstructs an adaptation that helps barley fit into double-season crop rotations in central and eastern China. The researchers examined 505 representative cultivars spanning 80 years of modern Chinese breeding. They identified a single amino acid substitution in PHYTOCHROME C acting with a winter-type variant of VERNALIZATION 1. Earlier maturation helps crops escape presummer terminal heat and leaves room for summer crops. The Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has filed a patent application covering early-heading wheat and barley materials and their generation methods and applications.