Page 250 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

especially in North America, there is a need to focus on pathogen attacks in this crop plant. Plant growth-
promoting rhizobacteria have a potential role in sustainable food production, particularly in the presence
of biotic and abiotic stresses, including those associated with global climate change, to feed our growing
global population. Plant-beneficial microbes provide an alternative and can be suitable tools for Botrytis
control and enhance overall crop productivity in an environmentally sustainable way. The current study
focuses on the biocontrol activity of bacteria against Botrytis cinerea of the cannabis plant. Morphological
analysis and scanning electron microscopy helped us determine the interaction between biocontrol
(microbes) and Botrytis. Microbiological studies performed to characterize the selected beneficial bacteria
for their ability to produce lytic enzymes involved in plant pathogenic inhibition and plant growth
stimulation revealed cellulase, protease, lipase, amylase, ACC-deaminase and phosphatase activity. The
study allowed the detection of several enzymatic mechanisms involved in plant growth and protection and
revealed the potential of members of phytomicrobiomes as a biocontrol and biostimulant in cannabis
plants. The current project aims to reduce fungal pathogen infection (Botrytis cinerea) in Cannabis plants
using plant-beneficial microbes which will help the producers and sellers in reducing the limitations of
Cannabis production and limit the use of synthetic fungicides that are harmful to human health and
increase greenhouse gas emission.

*[P94] GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF PREHARVEST SPROUTING ASSOCIATED
ALPHA- AMYLASE ACTIVITY IN BARLEY. Rui Wang , Gurkamal Kaur , Marta S. Izydorczyk , Dean
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Spaner , Aaron D. Beattie , Ana Badea , and Belay T. Ayele . Department of Plant Science, University of
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Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; Grain Research Laboratory, Canadian Grain Commission,
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Winnipeg, MB R3C 3G8, Canada; Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University
of Alberta, Edmonton Canada; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon,
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SK S7N 5A8, Canada; and 5Brandon Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, Brandon, MB R7A 5Y3, Canada
Correspondence to: wangr318@myumanitoba.ca

Barley production is significantly affected by preharvest sprouting (PHS), which refers to the germination
of seeds on the mother plant before harvesting due to humid and rainy conditions. Most of the modern
barley cultivars in Canada exhibit a low level of seed dormancy and are susceptible to PHS, which
activates alpha- amylase activity and starch degradation in the seeds and therefore causes substantial
yield and quality losses. Therefore, there is a need to develop PHS resistant barley cultivars. The main
objective of this study is to identify genomic regions/candidate genes associated with PHS induced alpha-
amylase activity in barley seeds using genome-wide association study (GWAS). Seeds of the mapping
panel, which consists of 160 diverse barley genotypes, harvested from four field tests were examined for
variations in alpha- amylase activity using Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA). The mapping panel was also
genotyped using a 50K Illumina Infinium iSelect genotyping array. After filtration, a total of 30,494
polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were considered for GWAS using mixed linear
model with Kinship (MLM+K). Our analysis identified 10 significant markers representing one quantitative
trait loci (QTL) on chromosome 5H based on the linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay 2.81cM and false
discovery rate (FDR) threshold of α = 0.05. Each of the 10 significant markers explain 13% to 18% of the
phenotypic variation. The markers associated with the alpha-amylase activity might have the potential to
enhance marker-assisted selection in the development of PHS resistant barley cultivars.

[P95] EVALUATING SEASON EXTENSION TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS BOREAL NORTHERN
AGRICULTURAL REGIONS. Julia Wheeler, Karen Compton, Dena Wiseman, and Linda Elizabeth

Jewell. St. John’s Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 204 Brookfield
Road, St. John’s, NL A1E 0B2
Correspondence to: julia.wheeler@agr.gc.ca

Northern boreal communities depend on complex food systems that are frequently highly reliant on
outside exports. Obtaining fresh, high-quality produce is often extremely difficult in these communities, as
their long supply chains are frequently disrupted. Ongoing climate changes, such as increased frequency
of extreme weather events, disrupt these supply chains and increase food insecurity in Northern boreal
communities. Local vegetable production represents an important component of the food system, but
there are numerous barriers to agriculture in Boreal Northern regions, one of which is short growing
seasons with frequent frosts in both spring and fall.

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