Crop evolution and domestication had boomed the human civilization by modification of important phenotypic traits. However, it is unclear how the root systems and rhizosphere functions had been selected and reshaped during the evolution and domestication. A deep understanding of how the below-ground functions are formed and maintained by host drivers is necessary to maintain future food production and stress resilience, especially under resources scarcity.
This project aims to identify the convergent selection of root formation and microbiome assembly by systemically investigating global crop (maize, rice, barley and wheat) germplasm resources i.e. wild species, domesticated forms and elite varieties. Population-based genetics and molecular basis of the origin and diversification of crop root system establishment is ongoing.
Key publication:
- Yu P, Li C, Li M, He X, ..., Sawers RJH, Wang T, Hochholdinger F "Root system adaptation to water availability during maize domestication and global expansion." Nature Genetics. 2024; 56: 1245–1256.
- He X, Hochholdinger F, Chen X, Yu P (2024) Crop domestication and improvement reshape root traits and their associated microbiome structure and function. Front Agri Sci Eng (FASE), in press.