What is it about?
Most wheat grown on farms today is semi-dwarfs, meaning the plants are shorter, studier and higher yielding than traditional tall varieties. These modern wheats carry mutations in DELLA genes which were widely introduced into global agriculture by Norman Borlaug during the Green Revolution. To better understand how DELLA genes control plant growth, we studied two related genes, IDD5 in wheat and SDW3 in barley. We found that the proteins made by these genes interact directly with DELLA proteins and help regulate cell expansion. Mutations in IDD5 or SDW3 produced shorter plants similar in height to Green Revolution varieties, confirming that these genes play an important role in controlling crop growth.
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Why is it important?
Improving wheat and barley is essential for feeding a growing global population. Many modern wheat varieties are shorter and more productive because of mutations in DELLA genes discovered during the Green Revolution. In this study, we identified two new genes, IDD5 in wheat and SDW3 in barley, that work together with DELLA to control how stems and leaves grow. Understanding how these genes interact helps scientists uncover new ways to fine-tune plant growth, beyond the traditional Green Revolution mutations. Although we hoped that changing IDD5 might improve yield without unwanted side effects, our field trials showed that plants with these mutations produced fewer spikes, reducing overall yields. This highlights why testing new genetic ideas in real farm conditions is essential before they can be used to benefit agriculture.
Perspectives
This article summarises six years of my work and more than a decade from our Australian collaborators. It provides useful insight into the agricultural potential of IDD genes in two of the most important crops, wheat and barley. I hope it will be another step to understand hormonal regulation of agriculturally important traits in these crops. I had a great time working on this project, and I will be happy to see continued research on these genes.
Stephen Pearce
Rothamsted Research
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: INDETERMINATE DOMAIN–DELLA protein interactions orchestrate gibberellin-mediated cell elongation in wheat and barley, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2528934123.
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