The Genetic Basis of Adaptation to Low Rainfall Environments in Australia

Abstract

Improving the adaptation of barley to low rainfall environments is a challenge faced by many barley breeding programs. Constraints to productivity in these environments include drought and high temperature stress, subsoil constraints, and biotic stresses. Specific mapping populations have been grown in Australian low rainfall environments to characterise the genetic basis of adaptation. The mapping populations include the Australian advanced backcross QTL (H. spontaneum × Barque × 73) mapping population and ICARDA mapping populations Arta × Harmal and Tadmor × ER/Apm. QTL mapping of yield and grain quality traits, agronomic traits, and biotic/abiotic stress related traits has identified genetic locations different to those identified in previous Australian mapping populations. Mapping results from the Arta × Harmal population evaluated in Australian field trials will be compared with results from trials conducted in Syria and Jordan to compare the nature of low rainfall environments between the two regions.