James Cockram

The barley ear row-number allele ancestral to the six-row allele vrs1.a1 is found in wild barley from the Fertile Crescent

The paper identifies the origin of the barley VRS1 allele vrs1.a1 as a mutation of the wild-type Vrs1.b1 allele in wild barley from the eastern Fertile Crescent.

pyRootHair: Machine Learning Accelerated Software for High-Throughput Phenotyping of Plant Root Hair Traits

pyRootHair automates root hair trait quantification from plant root images, revealing significant variation across wheat cultivars and supporting high-throughput analysis.

The switch from bacterial phosphorus mineralization to arbuscular mycorrhiza in root hairless wheat during crop development

This study shows wheat root hair mutants shift from bacterial to fungal phosphorus acquisition during development under phosphorus-depleted conditions.

Barley BODYGUARD controls cuticular specialisations regulated by SHINE transcription factors

This study identifies HvBDG1 as a gene essential for barley cuticular integrity and wax bloom, showing its interaction with SHINE transcription factors in cuticle development and revealing NUD's broader role beyond grain-specific functions.

Multi-trait ensemble genomic prediction and simulations of recurrent selection highlight importance of complex trait genetic architecture in long-term genetic gains in wheat

The paper uses multi-trait genomic prediction models and simulations to show that complex trait genetic architecture improves long-term genetic gains in wheat breeding.

A global pangenome for the wheat fungal pathogen Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and prediction of effector protein structural homology

This paper constructs a pangenome for Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and identifies structural homology in effector proteins, revealing genetic variations linked to pathogenicity.

Trends of genetic changes uncovered by Env- and Eigen-GWAS in wheat and barley

This paper uses EnvGWAS and EigenGWAS on historical wheat and barley varieties to identify genomic regions under selection without phenotyping, finding 16 barley and 10 wheat regions with adaptation-related introgressions.

Limited haplotype diversity underlies polygenic trait architecture across 70 years of wheat breeding

The paper analyzes haplotype diversity and genetic associations in wheat breeding lines to understand polygenic trait architecture and breeding implications.

Genetic resistance to yellow rust infection of the wheat ear is controlled by genes controlling foliar resistance and flowering time

This paper identifies genetic loci controlling yellow rust resistance in wheat ears, showing that some loci also affect leaf resistance and flowering time.