Project description:In the present study, we investigated the transcriptome features during hulless barley grain development. Using Illumina paired-end RNA-Sequencing, we generated two data sets of the developing grain transcriptomes from two hulless barley landraces.
Project description:The hypothesis whether CaCl2 seed treatment prior to sowing (osmopriming) can enhance drought stress tolerance, and/or alleviate the effect on plant growth was tested. Here we elucidate whether seed treatment prior to sowing (osmopriming) with CaCl2 can improve the drought stress tolerance, as it was previously reported for salt stress on wheat. Thus the effect of 50 mM CaCl2, previously chosen based on pilot experiment, versus water-treated control exposed to drought stress was investigated.
Project description:We hypothesized that the genome segments of cultivated barley should show certain similarity with its ancestral wild barley. Instead of whole genome sequences, we employed RNA-Seq to investigated the genomic origin of modern cultivated barley using some representative wild barley genotypes from the Near East and Tibet, and representative world-wide selections of cultivated barley.
Project description:A DNA microarray analysis detected large-scale changes of gene expression in response to Cd stress with a substantial difference between the two barley genotypes differing in Cd tolerance and accumulation. Cd stress led to higher expression of genes involved in transport, carbohydrate metabolism and signal transduction in the low-grain-Cd-accumulating genotype. Novel transporter genes such as zinc transporter genes were identified as being associated with low Cd accumulation. We used microarrays to understand the mechanism of low Cd accumulation in crops which is crucial for sustainable safe food production in Cd-contaminated soils.
Project description:Secondary metabolites are frequently involved in mechanisms of the plant tolerance to environmental stresses. Determining metabolic biomarkers for drought tolerance may be a useful implementation in increasing and stabilizing crop plant productivity. The most accurate and fast tool for this purpose is the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). It enabled a rapid discrimination between samples from plants grown in different water limitation regimes. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to handle and interpret the complexity of the generated data. UHPLC raw data was mathematically pre-processed to reduce the effects of instrumental factors. The multivariate analysis of variance was used to find the significant changes in the secondary metabolites composition induced by the drought stress. Tests were performed on 9 varieties of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) originating from Europe, North America and Syria. Drought stress was applied at different developmental stages. The UHPLC results suggest that the changes in metabolite profiles are a stage-specific trait and alter in the life cycle. In addition, there is variability in metabolites selected as significant for the reaction to drought depending on sampling time and variety. In parallel, an ion trap mass spectrometer with an electrospray ion source coupled to a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV detector was used for qualitative analysis of phenolic compounds and identification of the potential biomarkers.
