Ancient wheat and barley genes offer climate adaptation clues

Researchers have reconstructed 10 ancient plant genomes, identifying around 100 gene variants in wheat and barley that aided climate adaptation over 10,000 years, offering new tools for breeding climate-resilient crops. The teams from INRAE, the University of Clermont Auvergne and the CNRS compared 84 modern plant genomes and 1,420 wheat and barley varieties, including 5,000-year-old wheat remains. They validated genes affecting yield, flowering date and epigenetic regulation, publishing results in Molecular Plant and Nature Plants. Two open-access tools, AGR and OrthoViewer, allow scientists to compare conserved genes across 84 agronomic species. The method applies to other crops like rice, maize and sorghum, supporting varietal selection for climate change and agro-ecological transition challenges.