Shared climate-adaptation genes found in 10,000 years of wheat and barley selection

Researchers from INRAE, the University of Clermont Auvergne and the CNRS have reconstructed 10 ancient genomes, or paleogenomes, representing the common ancestors of 84 plant species, identifying shared genes that may be key to climate adaptation. The study compared genes from over 1,420 modern wheat and barley varieties and ancient wheat remains, identifying around a hundred gene variants retained across 10,000 years of domestication. These variants, linked to traits like drought tolerance and flowering dates, were selected under similar climate constraints. The teams also developed two open-access tools, AGR and OrthoViewer, for scientists and breeders. This research opens new avenues for varietal selection programs facing climate change, with the method applicable to other crops like rice, maize and sorghum.