Researchers Unlock the Pangenome of Barley's Closest Wild Relative
July 16, 2025| |
An international team of researchers led by the IPK Leibniz Institute studied the structural genome evolution in barley (Hordeum vulgare) and constructed a pangenome of its closest wild relative, Hordeum bulbosum.
IPK Leibniz Institute's Dr. Frank Blattner collected H. bulbosum genotypes all over the Mediterranean. Combined with accessions from genebanks, Blattner's work resulted in a panel of 263 diverse genotypes, comprising both diploid and tetraploid cytotypes. After analyzing their population structure, the research team assembled and annotated 10 reference-quality chromosome-scale genomes of bulbous barleys.
According to Jia-Wu Feng, first author of the study, the tetraploid forms have two origins, one in Greece and one in southwestern Asia. In Asia, they originated between one and two million years ago, while in Greece, tetraploids arose only within the last 100,000 years. Blattner explains that they found evidence that both types are now interbreeding, providing a way for polyploids to enrich their genomic diversity through multiple origins.
For more details, read the news article on the IPK Leibniz Institute website.
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