It’s hard to say which of these has occupied my mind the most. Maybe the tiny meristems—no matter how many I dissect, I am constantly amazed by their complexity. Each one is a tiny powerhouse of growth, shaping the future of the plant. If you’ve never seen one up close, I highly recommend it! (You can find the method here: Wheat spike meristem microdissection).

But while meristems fascinate me, it’s the mixed signals that have kept me awake at night, shaping my research into how cereals respond to environmental cues. By analysing future weather predictions for the UK, I realised that while average temperatures may not rise enough to cause heat stress in wheat, they will trigger an earlier growing season, when daylength is still short. In the UK, photoperiod-sensitive wheat planted in October normally receives two coupled signals by late February (10 h 45 min daylight): rising temperature and prolonged photoperiod, both promoting transition to flowering. However, under future climate scenarios, these signals will become uncoupled: higher temperatures will induce flowering transition as early as late January, when days are still under 9 hours long (non-inducive photoperiod). What happens when temperature and photoperiod signals are no longer in sync? Traditionally, scientists have studied these signals separately. This knowledge gap became the focus of my research.

Uncoupling these signals revealed a unique trait in some wheat genotypes, aerial branching. Unlike related species (e.g. Brachypodium, maize), wheat produces a single spike per tiller, with dormant axillary meristems (AxMs) at each node along the stem. Under the uncoupled signals, some of these AxMs are activated leading to additional tillers, spikes, or leaves. While this trait is not immediately beneficial for yield, it highlights wheat’s plasticity and potential for adaptation. Understanding the genetic mechanisms behind it could help us either suppress or harness it for breeding.

To understand this phenomenon, I dissected plants grown under various environments at different developmental stages and found that the AxMs de-repression occurs early, during tillering stages (i.e., Z20-30). By then, the AxMs are located just below the main spike meristem, extending 1–1.5 mm downward from the boundary. To investigate the genetic changes driving this process, we conducted RNA-seq on tissue containing these AxMs (i.e., tissue just below the spike meristem, approximately 1 mm³ in volume) across different environments, timepoints and genotypes. Once the RNA-seq raw data arrived, my mind was absorbed in deciphering the results. Our quality control indicates a robust dataset, and I am currently investigating candidate genes, with collaborative spatial transcriptomics and functional validation work on the horizon.

To ensure thorough documentation of our novel phenotype (aerial branching) at maturity, we replicated it in glasshouses for three years and oscillating-temperature Controlled Environment Chambers (four 8-month batches). Moreover, I developed an efficient phenotyping method to capture its complexity through a simple numerical matrix. As we finalize the remaining experiments, we look forward to sharing our findings on bioRxiv later this year, alongside our day-to-day lab protocols we’ve already shared on protocols.io, as part of our commitment to open science. I led this effort, sharing the news on X and linking the protocols to GrainGenes to maximise visibility.

If you think about it, each method for simulating future environments has its strengths and limitations, so we used multiple approaches for a fuller picture. As part of this effort, I led the UK’s first T-FACE (Temperature-Free Air Controlled Enhancement) pilot experiment, where we raised field temperatures by 3.5 °C to mimic future UK conditions. This cross-disciplinary project lays the foundation for UK larger-scale studies on plant responses to a warming climate.

Looking back, this entire project has set the stage for the next phase of my plant science career. Five years ago, I would have been astonished to see that I am the author of this post, and that says a lot. So, let’s see “lo que está por venir”.

References

Faci, I., Backhaus, A. E., & Uauy, C. Wheat spike meristem microdissection. protocols.io (Non-peer-reviewed) (2024).

Kimball, B. A. Theory and performance of an infrared heater for ecosystem warming. Global Change Biology, 11(11), 2041-2056. (2005).