CLAVATA signalling shapes barley inflorescence by controlling activity and determinacy of shoot meristem and rachilla

Isaia Vardanega, Jan Eric Maika, Edgar Demesa-Arevalo, Tianyu Lan, Gwendolyn K. Kirschner, Jafargholi Imani, Ivan F. Acosta, Katarzyna Makowska, Götz Hensel, Thilanka Ranaweera, Shin-Han Shiu, Thorsten Schnurbusch, Maria von Korff and Rüdiger Simon ()
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Isaia Vardanega: Heinrich-Heine University
Jan Eric Maika: Heinrich-Heine University
Edgar Demesa-Arevalo: Heinrich-Heine University
Tianyu Lan: Heinrich-Heine University
Gwendolyn K. Kirschner: Heinrich-Heine University
Jafargholi Imani: Justus Liebig University
Ivan F. Acosta: Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Katarzyna Makowska: Heinrich-Heine University
Götz Hensel: Michigan State University
Thilanka Ranaweera: Michigan State University
Shin-Han Shiu: Michigan State University
Thorsten Schnurbusch: Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK)
Maria von Korff: Heinrich-Heine University
Rüdiger Simon: Heinrich-Heine University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract The large variety of inflorescence architectures evolved in grasses depends on shape, longevity and determinacy of meristems directing growth of the main and lateral axes. The CLAVATA pathway is known to regulate meristem size and inflorescence architecture in grasses. However, how individual meristem activities are determined and integrated to generate specific inflorescences is not yet understood. We found that activity of distinct meristems in the barley inflorescence is controlled by a signalling pathway comprising the receptor-like kinase Hordeum vulgare CLAVATA1 (HvCLV1) and the secreted CLAVATA3/EMBRYO-SURROUNDING REGION RELATED (CLE)-family peptide FON2-LIKE CLE PROTEIN1 (HvFCP1). HvFCP1 and HvCLV1 interact to promote spikelet formation, but restrict inflorescence meristem and rachilla proliferation. Hvfcp1 or Hvclv1 mutants generate additional rows of spikelets and supernumerary florets from extended rachilla activity. HvFCP1/HvCLV1 signalling coordinates meristem activity through regulation of trehalose-6-phosphate levels. Our discoveries outline a path to engineer inflorescence architecture via specific regulation of distinct meristem activities.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59330-z

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