Catalase deficiency reduces survival and pleiotropically affects agronomic performance in field-grown barley progeny

Field-grown plants of the catalase-deficient mutant RPr79/4 show necrotic lesions in leaves and preferentially die. Initially, necrotic lesions exhibited by RPr79/4 were used to indirectly assess the role of distinct levels of catalase on the survival and agronomic performance of field-grown barley progeny. The segregation of three control traits was also analyzed to eliminate the influence of any obvious meiotic disturbance in case a reduction of plant survival was observed. The RPr79/4 necrotic phenotype had recessive expression in field-grown F1 plants. F2 progeny studies performed in the greenhouse revealed that the inheritance of necrotic lesions was monofactorial, and that the control traits segregated as expected. Progeny test analyses of field-grown F2 plants demonstrated that necrotic homozygous plants died preferentially. While the few surviving necrotic homozygous families were catalase-deficient, healthy homozygous families had normal levels of catalase. Progeny test analyses of the control traits confirmed the inheritance calculated in F2. Taken together, these findings indicate that abnormal segregation of necrotic lesions cannot be attributed to any obvious abnormal meiotic behavior but to the incapacity of catalase-deficient plants to overcome field stress conditions. Thus, catalase deficiency in barley reduced survival and pleiotropically affected the agronomic performance by diminishing seed weight and yield.