When: Thursday 26 June | 14:00 – 15:30 BST
The International Barley Hub is pleased to announce the next seminar in its 2025 series, run by leading barley scientists and industry experts. This seminar will be presented by Dr. Riccardo Fusi (Post Doctoral researcher, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)
Summary:
My research focuses on understanding the genetic basis of root development to support the design of cereal crops with improved productivity and stress resilience. Specifically, I aim to identify key genes and develop genetic markers that can be implemented in breeding and transformation pipelines to engineer a “steep and cheap” root ideotype. This ideotype, characterised for example by a narrower Root Growth Angle (RGA), enables roots to more effectively reach deeper soil layers, enhancing the uptake of mobile nutrients such as water and nitrogen. Using a multidisciplinary approach, combining genomic e.g. TILLING and phenotyping techniques such as X-ray CT, we discovered and characterised a gene in barley and wheat—Enhancing Gravitropism 1 (EGT1)—which disrupts the anti-gravitropic offset pathway and produces a steep root phenotype across all root classes. In addition to architectural traits, anatomical features at the cellular level play a crucial role in reallocating carbon and water resources. One example is xylem vessel patterning, which directly influences water uptake and retention, impacting the plant’s water-saving strategies under stress. In barley, we identified the auxin efflux carrier gene PIN1a as a key regulator of xylem patterning. I will discuss how the integration of genetic resources, such as TILLING populations, with multidisciplinary phenotyping approaches, including X-ray CT, has enabled the identification of key genes and mechanisms within the soil environment
Speakers bio:
Dr. Riccardo Fusi is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Malcolm Bennett’s group at the University of Nottingham (UK), specialising in molecular genetics and crop biotechnology. Coming from a family of farmers and with experience as a farm manager, Riccardo’s passion for agriculture and its biological, environmental, and social aspects has shaped his academic path. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies from the Universities of Milan and Bologna (Italy). In Bologna, he joined Professor Silvio Salvi’s group, where he trained in advanced genetic and in Nottingham, where he used novel phenotyping tools such as X-ray CT to study root development. Riccardo completed his PhD at Nottingham under Professor Malcolm Bennett and Jonathan Lynch’s supervision, focusing on genes controlling deeper rooting in cereals, using multidisciplinary techniques such as TILLING, GWAS, CRISPR-Cas9, X-ray CT, and AFM. His current research investigates how signals like ethylene can be harnessed to develop spring wheat cultivars resilient to soil compaction, combining molecular approaches with field-based practices using X-ray CT.