Genetic interactions between barley and the microbiome to improve resiliency

Presentation by Jessica Williams and Dr. Jamie Sherman, Montana State University, at the 2024 Barley Improvement Conference.
Relationships with microorganisms can benefit plant growth and responses to biotic and abiotic stress. By treating microbial community characteristics as traits in barley genetic mapping, we are identifying loci that are involved in these plant-microbe interactions. These could be useful for breeding barley varieties that have an enhanced ability to utilize the microbiome for crop resilience.