A Kansas State University wheat geneticist is part of a breakthrough study that identifies one of the wheat genes that controls response to low temperature exposure, a process called vernalization. Natural variation in vernalization genes defines when the plant begins to flower and is critical for adaptation to different environments.
Researchers anticipate this will help wheat breeders design wheat varieties that can adapt and thrive in changing environments around the world.
Eduard Akhunov, associate professor in the plant pathology department, collaborated with Jorge Dubcovsky at the University of California, Davis on this study. It appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, or PNAS, article “Identification of the VERNALIZATION 4 gene reveals the origin of spring growth habit in ancient wheats from South Asia.”
More information is available here: http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/sept15/vernalization9215.html
