• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, October 20, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

New findings to boost barley yields at higher temps

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 6, 2025
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

An international team of researchers has identified a novel mechanism in barley plants, which could help crop growers achieve high yields as temperatures rise.

With grain production highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions, rising temperatures are known to reduce the number of seeds that can be produced on each plant. One solution is to increase the number of flowers or branches on each ‘spike’, which is the reproductive structure from which grain is harvested.

In a study published in Nature Plants, research led by Professor Dabing Zhang from the University of Adelaide’s Waite Research Institute and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Joint Lab for Plant Science and Breeding, explored the possibility of increasing seed production through the reproductive mechanisms in plants that respond to high temperatures.

“Cereal crops such as wheat and barley are worth over $12B to the Australian economy,” said lead author Dr Gang Li with the University of Adelaide’s Waite Research Institute.

“Genes that control the amount of grain produced per plant under higher temperatures are really attractive targets for breeders and researchers, particularly in the face of changing environmental conditions.

“It has long been presumed that environmental cues such as temperature are responsible for the diversity of the biological structures between cereals. However the mechanisms behind the structural changes have been largely unknown, which is why this study is important.”

In the study, Professor Zhang’s team found a novel mechanism by which a barley protein, known as HvMADS1, regulates the number of flowers generated on each spike, in response to high temperatures. The researchers were able to demonstrate that HvMADS1 is critical in maintaining an unbranched barley spike under high ambient temperatures.

Using a highly-efficient genome editing technique, the researchers were able to generate new plants that lack HvMADS1 function, effectively converting an unbranched barley spike into a branched structure, bearing more flowers at high ambient temperatures.

“This could ultimately result in the production of more grain per plant,” said Dr Li.

Co-author Associate Professor Matthew Tucker, Deputy Director of the Waite Research Institute said: “This study reveals a new role of this protein family in responding to thermal change and directing the composition of flowers on a stem.

“With short to medium temperature rises predicted globally, plant scientists and breeders have an enormous challenge ahead of them to generate crop yields needed to feed growing populations in higher temperatures.

“By having a better understanding of the genes underpinning desirable plant traits in response to temperature scientists can offer insights into breeding climate-smart plants to sustain productivity.”

The researchers say this work provides new avenues for crop breeding potential to overcome the traditional compromise between heat tolerance and high yield.

“This collaborative research demonstrates the importance of international partnerships in delivering fundamental scientific breakthroughs, and the value of gene editing strategies in crops, which are routinely used at the Waite Research Institute at the University of Adelaide,” said Associate Professor Tucker.

###

Media Contact
Dr Gang Li
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00957-3

Tags: Agricultural Production/EconomicsAgricultureCell BiologyClimate ChangeFood/Food ScienceTemperature-Dependent Phenomena
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

AASM Reveals Finalists for Inaugural Sleep Medicine Disruptors Innovation Award

October 20, 2025

New White Paper Calls on Policymakers to Update Practice Laws and Unlock AI’s Full Potential in Healthcare

October 20, 2025

Revealing the Causes of Battery Failure Using Graphene Mesosponges

October 20, 2025

Tumour Macrophages Fuel Liver Cancer Metastasis

October 20, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1265 shares
    Share 505 Tweet 316
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    298 shares
    Share 119 Tweet 75
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    127 shares
    Share 51 Tweet 32
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    103 shares
    Share 41 Tweet 26

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

AASM Reveals Finalists for Inaugural Sleep Medicine Disruptors Innovation Award

New White Paper Calls on Policymakers to Update Practice Laws and Unlock AI’s Full Potential in Healthcare

Revealing the Causes of Battery Failure Using Graphene Mesosponges

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 66 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.