Generation and characterization of a barley strigolactone mutant collection: from plant architecture to drought stress response.

Barley SL mutants affecting early biosynthesis or signaling show reduced biomass and water content under drought, with high-tillering mutants most impacted.

• Why it matters: Understanding how strigolactones influence drought responses in barley can improve crop resilience, addressing gaps in knowledge about their specific roles in stress adaptation.
• What they did: Researchers analyzed transcriptional, hormonal, and physiological responses to water deficit in 12 barley SL mutants, including those affecting biosynthesis and signaling pathways, using gene expression and metabolic profiling.
• The result: High-tillering SL mutants exhibited the strongest drought-related reductions and ABA accumulation, while Hvmax1a resembled wild type in architecture but showed mutant-like metabolic traits, providing insights into SL pathway functions and a genetic resource for future studies.