Genomics as the key to adapting to extreme weather events. How barley manages to germinate even after flooding

In a context of growing instability linked to climate change, understanding how crops can adapt to extreme events becomes a crucial challenge for agriculture. A study coordinated by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, in collaboration with the Scuola Normale Superiore, and published in the journal Plant Physiology, has identified a region of the genome with a possible influence on barley germination even after extreme rainfall leading to flooding. This discovery may open up new prospects for selecting varieties that are more resilient to climate change.

"This result highlights the possibility of identifying barley accessions capable of germinating after extreme flooding events by exploring the rainfall patterns recorded in the respective cultivation areas" says Chiara Pucciariello, associate professor at the Institute of Plant Sciences and coordinator of the study, carried out at the Plant Lab in collaboration with Prof. Pierdomenico Perata.

The integration of genomics and historical climate data

The first author of the study, Dr Eva Marìa Gòmez Álvarez, a research fellow at the Sant'Anna School, analysed a large collection of local barley varieties from Europe, Asia and Africa, integrating genomic data with historical information on the precipitation regimes of their respective areas of origin. This approach, to which Leonardo Caproni and Matteo Dell'Acqua of the Sant'Anna School contributed, made it possible to identify a specific region of the genome potentially involved in the ability of seeds to germinate after flooding events.

Thanks to collaboration with the NEST Laboratory, in particular with Francesco Cardarelli and Margherita Marazzini, respectively associate professor and researcher at the Scuola Normale Superiore, it was possible to establish that the identified region contains genes associated with seed structure and dormancy, processes that are fundamental for ensuring effective germination in the natural environment after extreme flooding events. The discovery represents an important advance in understanding the molecular basis of barley tolerance to adverse environmental conditions.

Study references

Eva Maria Gómez-Álvarez, Margherita Marazzini, Leonardo Caproni, Luca Magnani, F Cardarelli, Matteo Dell'Acqua, Pierdomenico Perata, Chiara Pucciariello, Rainfall patterns during barley seed development underlie genomic variation for germination after flooding, Plant Physiology, 2025.
The study was carried out as part of the PNRR Agritech National Research Centre European Union Next-GenerationEU project.