Genetic Basis of Heat Tolerance in Rice During Grain Development

Special Plant Science seminar by Dr Harkamal Walia, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Rising global temperatures during cropping seasons are resulting in yield losses. These yield losses are emerging as a major obstacle for important cereal crops such as wheat and rice and hence global food security. Rice grain development is very sensitive to high temperatures, particularly higher nighttime temperatures. We aimed to explore the natural variation for high nighttime temperature tolerance using a suite of phenotyping approaches including an image-based, non-destructive platform for panicle imaging. To associate genomic linkages with these image-derived features, we have performed genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to identify loci for high temperature tolerance that explain the natural variation within the rice germplasm. Conventional yield parameters were also used for association analysis. Results from these genetic analyses at panicle level over spatial and temporal scale and grain-related response to high temperatures will be presented.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Walia received his Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the University of California, Riverside. His research interest is in understanding the physiological and molecular basis of abiotic stress tolerance in crops. His program uses genomics and phenomics approaches for discovering novel genes and genetic variants for improving crop performance in sub-optimal growing conditions. Of particular interest are crop responses to variation in water quantity and quality and high temperature.

To participate:

For McGill attendees (you will need to sign in with your McGill email): Zoom https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/96457457229

For External attendees: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsHIIzwNi0VVN9ylYGR8pA/videos?view_as=subscriber