IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDATE GENES UNDERLYING A NOVEL QTL FOR ROOT LENGTH AND DIAMETER IN BARLEY IN RESPONSE TO SALINITY

A 2.5-Mb interval on chromosome 2H in Clipper × Sahara 3771 DH barley is linked to major QTLs for seminal root length and average root diameter under both control and saline conditions.

• Why it matters: Salinity reduces crop growth, and breeding would benefit from pinpointing genetic regions and candidate genes that shape root architecture and support water and nutrient uptake while managing toxic ions.
• What they did: The mapping population was phenotyped for root traits under saline conditions, QTLs were mapped, the chromosome 2H linkage map was refined with new SNP assays, and BSR-Seq compared salt-tolerant versus salt-sensitive DH lines.
• The result: BSR-Seq identified differentially expressed genes tied to root growth maintenance and ion homeostasis in root tips, enabling candidate gene prioritization within the chromosome 2H interval.

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