Research program
Our group is interested in characterizing patterns and processes of genetic variation in crop plants and their relatives using population genetic, quantitative genetic, bioinformatics and related approaches.
Plant genetic resources contribute to future plant breeding in a rapidly changing world. We investigate genetic and phenotypic diversity of wild and exotic germplasm to identify useful genetic variation by investigating the history of domestication and their adaptation to different environments. We use population genetic and quantitative genetic approaches and plant breeding to investigate these questions and to develop new approaches for the utilization of PGR in breeding modern varieties.
Projects
Barley diversity
Barley is one of the major crops of the world. We have been involved in characterizing the genetic and phenotypic diversity of wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) and identified evolutionary processes that shape this variation using population genetic and landscape genetic approaches.
More recently, we have begun to characterized the metabolic and phenotypic variation of introgression lines to identify genes in genetic resources that are useful for increasing malting quality and abiotic stress tolerance.
Key publications:
- Chang, C.-W., Fridman, E., Mascher, M., Himmelbach, A., and Schmid, K. (2022). Physical geography, isolation by distance and environmental variables shape genomic variation of wild barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. spontaneum) in the Southern Levant. Heredity 128, 107–119. Journal Preprint
- Russell, J., Mascher, M., Dawson, I.K., Kyriakidis, S., Calixto, C., Freund, F., Bayer, M., Milne, I., Marshall-Griffiths, T., Heinen, S., Hofstad, A., Sharma, R., Himmelbach, A., Knauft, M., van Zonneveld, M., Brown, J.W.S., Schmid, K., Kilian, B., Muehlbauer, G.J., Stein, N. and Waugh, R. (2016) Exome sequencing of geographically diverse barley landraces and wild relatives gives insights into environmental adaptation. Nature Genetics 48,1024-1030. Journal
Landscape genomics in soybean
Soybean is the most important legume crop worldwide. To improve adaptation of soybean for cultivation in Europe, we used landscape genomic approaches to identify useful genetic variation and genebank accessions for introgression into modern elite varieties.
This project will be continued starting 1 March 2023 with project partners to evaluate introgression of useful genetic variation using genomic selecton and genome-wide association studies.
Key publications:
- Haupt, M and Schmid, K (2022) Using landscape genomics to infer genomic regions involved in environmental adaptation of soybean genebank accessions. bioRxiv 2022.02.18.480989 Preprint
- Max Haupt, Karl Schmid (2020) Combining focused identification of germplasm and core collection strategies to identify genebank accessions for central European soybean breeding.Plant, Cell & Environment, 43(6), 1421-1436. Journal Preprint
AI-based phenotyping in maize
Maize is characterized by a high level of genetic and phenotypic diversity. To analyse patterns of this diversity in the context of maize evolution and adaptation, we are collaborating with the maize genebank at the Universidad National Agraria La Molina, Peru. One outcome of this research is the development of a high throughput method for phenotyping of maize cobs from images using deep learning methods.
Key publication:
Quinoa diversity and breeding
Quinoa is a major crop in the Andean highlands. Because of its nutritional qualitities and tolerance against abiotic stress it is now cultivated at low level in many regions outside the Andean region. We have been involved in characterizing genetic resources of quinoa and in developing new quinoa varieties for cultivation in the Andean highlands, which are adapted to a changing climate. Furthermore, we are now initiating breeding programs for quinoa cultivation in the hot and dry areas of the Mediterranean as part of the international Quinoa4Med project (Website. Another project is the collaborative project QUIZ, which aims to breed new quinoa varieties for cultivation in Central Europe.
Key publications:
- Lozano-Isla, F., Apaza, J.-D., Mujica Sanchez, A., Blas Sevillano, R., Haussmann, B.I.G., and Schmid, K. (2023) Enhancing quinoa cultivation in the Andean highlands of Peru: a breeding strategy for improved yield and early maturity adaptation to climate change using traditional cultivars. Euphytica 219, 26. Journal
- Patiranage, D.S., Rey, E., Emrani, N., Wellman, G., Schmid, K., Schmöckel, S.M., Tester, M., and Jung, C. (2022). Genome-wide association study in quinoa reveals selection pattern typical for crops with a short breeding history. eLife 11, e66873. Journal
- Colque-Little, C., Abondano, M. C., Lund, O. S., Amby, D. B., Piepho, H. P., Andreasen, C., Schöckel, S. & Schmid, K. (2021). Genetic variation for tolerance to the downy mildew pathogen Peronospora variabilis in genetic resources of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa). BMC Plant Biology, 21(1), 1-19. Journal
Amaranth domestication
Like quinoa, amaranth is a pseudocereal and cultivated for its grain and as leaf vegetable. We have investigated various aspects of amaranth domestication and confirmed that the three grain amaranth species originating from South and Central America were likely domesticated independently three times from different populations of the same ancestral species, Amaranthus hybridus.
Current work aims at identifing the genetic basis for photoperiod sensitivity and flowering time to investigate differences between the three grain amaranth species and utilize this information for breeding new varieties for cultivation outside the region of origin.
Key publications:
- Baturaygil, A and Schmid, K (2022) Characterization of Flowering Time in Genebank Accessions of Grain Amaranths and Their Wild Relatives Reveals Signatures of Domestication and Local Adaptation. Agronomy 2, 505 Journal
- Baturaygil, A., Stetter, M. G., & Schmid, K. (2021). Breeding Amaranth for Biomass: Evaluating Dry Matter Content and Biomass Potential in Early and Late Maturing Genotypes. Agronomy, 11(5), 970. Journal
- Markus G Stetter, Mireia Vidal-Villarejo, Karl J Schmid (2019) Parallel seed color adaptation during multiple domestication attempts of an ancient new world grain. Molecular Biology and Evolution, msz304. Journal
Molecular markers in variety testing
The examination of new varieties involves the characterization of phenotypic traits that allow to define the distinctness, uniformity and stability of varieties (DUS traits). The genomics revolution poses the challenge to use molecular markers in DUS testing, and various scenarios for this purpose were developed.
We have been involved in evaluating molecular markers in rye, and more recently in maize and soybean as part of the EU-funded H2020 INVITE project (Website).