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Association between xylem vasculature size and freezing survival in winter barley

Association between xylem vasculature size and freezing survival in winter barley Winter survival is a major yield‐limiting factor in winter barley grown in the Upper Midwest, where winter temperatures regularly reach −20°C or lower. Here, we tested the hypothesis that improved freezing survival is associated with smaller xylem vessel diameters as a mechanism that minimizes physical damage arising from intracellular ice formation, using leaf vasculature as a proxy trait. A second goal was to test whether such anatomical differences could be captured non‐destructively via gas exchange measurements. We first identified a group of 11 winter barley genotypes that exhibited differential field winter survival. We then conducted xylem diameter measurements on the first three leaves on all genotypes in two independent experiments based on 1,188 images, in addition to leaf gas exchange measurements. Freezing‐tolerant genotypes consistently exhibited significantly smaller metaxylem vessel diameters irrespective of leaf rank, and this difference was not influenced by hardening, indicating that this trait is heritable. Additionally, genotypes with smaller vasculature tended to exhibit lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rates. Our data indicate that genotypes with leaf xylem diameters smaller than 30 µm are prime donor parents and could be identified using gas exchange measurements, pointing to new phenotyping approaches to accelerate breeding for freezing survival. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science Wiley

Association between xylem vasculature size and freezing survival in winter barley

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References (43)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2022 Blackwell Verlag GmbH
ISSN
0931-2250
eISSN
1439-037X
DOI
10.1111/jac.12537
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Winter survival is a major yield‐limiting factor in winter barley grown in the Upper Midwest, where winter temperatures regularly reach −20°C or lower. Here, we tested the hypothesis that improved freezing survival is associated with smaller xylem vessel diameters as a mechanism that minimizes physical damage arising from intracellular ice formation, using leaf vasculature as a proxy trait. A second goal was to test whether such anatomical differences could be captured non‐destructively via gas exchange measurements. We first identified a group of 11 winter barley genotypes that exhibited differential field winter survival. We then conducted xylem diameter measurements on the first three leaves on all genotypes in two independent experiments based on 1,188 images, in addition to leaf gas exchange measurements. Freezing‐tolerant genotypes consistently exhibited significantly smaller metaxylem vessel diameters irrespective of leaf rank, and this difference was not influenced by hardening, indicating that this trait is heritable. Additionally, genotypes with smaller vasculature tended to exhibit lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rates. Our data indicate that genotypes with leaf xylem diameters smaller than 30 µm are prime donor parents and could be identified using gas exchange measurements, pointing to new phenotyping approaches to accelerate breeding for freezing survival.

Journal

Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science – Wiley

Published: Jun 1, 2022

Keywords: climate change; embolism; phenotyping; plant hydraulics; winter hardiness; xylem anatomy

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