Scientists Identify Boron Tolerance Barley Gene

Of all the plant nutrients, boron has the narrowest range between deficient and toxic, in soil solution concentration.The function of the element relates to cell wall formation, sugar transport, pollen germination and plant hormone development. Boron toxicity severely limits crop production worldwide. In Australia alone, barley grain yield has been estimated to be reduced by 17 percent as a result of boron toxicity.

Scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia have identified the gene in barley responsible for tolerance to extreme levels of boron. The scientists identified the boron tolerance gene, Bot1, from an Algerian barley landrace. The protein encoded by the gene was found to minimize the entry of the element in roots and  mediates the disposal of accumulated boron in leaves. Scientists are now using molecular marker-assisted selection to introgress the gene into barley varieties with desirable agronomic properties.

Read more at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news23161.html The abstract of the paper published by Science is available at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/318/5855/1446