Barley genome sequence emerges as a promising candidate in genetic research and breeding

Abstract

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), domesticated since 8000 BC in western Asia and Northeast Africa (Fertile Cresent), is regarded as the founder crop of Old World agriculture. Cultivated barley is derived from its wild progenitor Hordeum spontaneum C. Koch, still inhabiting the Fertile Crescent from Israel and Jordan to South Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, and southwestern Iran. It possesses a distinct phenotype of broader leaves, shorter stem and awns, tough ear rachis, a shorter and thicker spike, and larger grains2. Barley is the fourth largest cultivated cereal worldwide, both in terms of area harvested (1.9 m ha) and production (134 million tonnes; mt). Of its total production, 75% is used as animal feed, 20% processed into alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and 5% is used in the making of food products which contribute about 30% of the calories consumed worldwide.