Advancing genetic improvements in barley heat tolerance during flowering and grain fill

GRDC is looking to invest to deliver a suite of breeder-deployable outputs that will support commercial barley breeding companies develop genetically improved late-stage heat-stress tolerant barley varieties. This five-year project will leverage foundational knowledge and outputs at varying levels of development from previous pre-breeding research, integrating, and transitioning them from the discovery phase to the delivery phase. There is scope also to explore alternative and cost-effective high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) methods for heat stress screening and novel sources.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is the second largest cereal crop in Australia after wheat, with recent five-year production levels averaging 12.4M tonnes annually and gross value of $3.7B per annum (ABARES, 2023). Australian barley represents 30% of the world’s malting barley trade and 20% of the feed barley exports. Heat stress is a key constraint to Australia’s barley production reducing both grain yield and grain quality (i.e., market value). Exposure of barley crops to acute and chronic heat stresses (> 30°C) during flowering and grain filling causes reduced grain plumpness, grain screenings (< 2.2mm), and grain loss. It is estimated that heat stress leads to average reductions of 13-15% in cereal yields. In barley, this is expected to increase by a further 6-7% reductions with every 1oC rise in ambient temperature. For Australia to remain a dominant global barley producer and exporter, developing new varieties that cope better with rising temperatures, protecting Australian barley production against future climate change, will be critical.

The discovery phase of previous pre-breeding research in late-season barley heat tolerance have generated substantial genetic resources and foundational knowledge. In the next phase, these advances will be leveraged, expanded, validated, integrated, and delivered to commercial barley breeders.

Please note key points as outlined below:

* Early and ongoing breeding company engagement and consultation

Co-design process that involves key commercial breeding entities must be adopted from project conception stage and throughout project life cycle for effective output development and delivery.

* Background IP

Substantial background IP that could be leveraged for this project is co-owned by GRDC and previous co-investors. GRDC can confirm approval for use of co-owned IP under terms specified on our Material Transfer Agreement (MTA). Noting, however, that access to existing IP will be subject to full approval from other relevant parties. Applicants are therefore advised to approach relevant IP co-owners well in advance (preferably prior to application submission). Details of previous GRDC co-investments in barley heat tolerance can be searched for on the GRDC Website.

* Collaboration with the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF)

Output 4, although a relatively smaller component of the overall project, will require applicants to partner with APPF to access and leverage capabilities/capacity which GRDC has funded to establish. GRDC expects applicants to establish this collaboration.

* Project size

GRDC is looking to invest in a medium sized five-year project. For example, this could include 1-2 postdoctoral fellows and PhD students, plus operating and travel expenses.

* Co-investment

GRDC is seeking co-investment that at least matches GRDC investment for this project.

* AGGI support

Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI) is a GRDC strategic partnership with University of Queensland, Curtin University and University of Adelaide. AAGI has capacity in experimental design and analysis of field trials. Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential support and collaborations with AAGI. To access AAGI support in the first instance, applicants must make enquiries to the AAGI Director, Dr Nathan O’Callaghan [email hidden]