Query (optional)   in Class  All Allele Author Colleague Collection Assembly Gene Gene Class Gene Product Germplasm Image Journal Keyword Library Locus Map Map Data Marker Pathology Polymorphism Probe Protein QTL Rearrangement Reference Sequence Species Trait Trait Study Two Point Data  

---

GrainGenes Reference Report: PCP-66-705

Reference	PCP-66-705
Title	SHORT AND CROOKED AWN, encoding the epigenetic regulator EMF1, promotes barley awn development
Journal	Plant and Cell Physiology
Year	2025
Volume	66
Pages	705-721
Author	Nakamura K [ Show all 7 ]
Abstract	The awn is a bristle-like extension from the tip of the lemma in grasses. In barley, the predominant cultivars possess long awns that contribute to grain yield and quality through photosynthesis. In addition, various awn morphological mutants are available in barley, rendering it a useful cereal crop to investigate the mechanims of awn development. Here, we identified the gene causative of the short and crooked awn (sca) mutant, which exhibits a short and curved awn phenotype. Intercrossing experiments revealed that the sca mutant induced in the Japanese cultivar (cv.) 'Akashinriki' is allelic to the independently isolated moderately short-awn mutant breviaristatum-a (ari-a). Map-based cloning and sequencing revealed that SCA encodes the Polycomb group-associated protein EMBRYONIC FLOWER 1. We found that SCA affects awn development through the promotion of cell proliferation, elongation, and cell wall synthesis. RNA sequencing of cv. Bowman backcross-derived near-isogenic lines of sca and ari-a6 alleles showed that SCA is directly or indirectly involved in promoting the expression of genes related to awn development. Additionally, SCA represses various transcription factors essential for floral organ development and plant architecture, such as MADS-box and Knotted1-like homeobox genes. Notably, the repression of the C-class MADS-box gene HvMADS58 by SCA in awns is associated with the accumulation of the repressive histone modification H3K27me3. These findings highlight the potential role of SCA-mediated gene regulation, including histone modification, as a novel pathway in barley awn development.
External Databases	https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcae150
Gene	HvEMF1L
Gene Class	Awn development

GrainGenes is a product of the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture.