# Barley PhyC–VRN1 flowering module found in 505 Chinese cultivars and confirmed by base editing

- Published: 2026-11-05 22:22 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Agritech & food
- Tags: barley flowering time, PhyC–VRN1 module, double-season cropping, base editing in barley and wheat, Chinese barley cultivars, Triticeae, PHYTOCHROME C, VERNALIZATION 1, climate-resilient crops
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-b648bc0e69309dbfb6827054_barley_phyc_vrn1/

**Authors analysed 505 Chinese barley cultivars and found a PHYTOCHROME C–VRN1 module that speeds heading; base editing in barley and wheat confirmed it.**

![Barley PhyC–VRN1 flowering module found in 505 Chinese cultivars and confirmed by base editing](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/bc16e08495034a76.png)
*Nature*

Researchers analysed the genomes of 505 representative barley cultivars from 80 years of modern breeding in China and identified a flowering-time module linked to double-season cropping, according to a paper in Nature [1]. The module consists of a single amino acid substitution in PHYTOCHROME C (PhyC) combined with a winter-type haplotype of VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) [1]. The authors confirmed its role by base editing in barley and wheat [1].

## Flowering time in double-season cropping

In central and eastern China, barley has long been grown in a double-season cropping system. In this system, early flowering and maturation are critical for escaping presummer terminal heat stress and for flexible rotation with summer crops, the authors write [1]. They add that adapting crops to intensive cultivation under climate change requires varieties that combine yield potential with optimized flowering and maturation [1].

The set of 505 cultivars is described as representative of modern breeding in China over eight decades. The authors used it to trace the genomic footprints of that breeding [1].

## PhyC–VRN1 module and base editing

The team reports that the derived allele of PhyC accelerates heading and maturity [1]. According to the authors, its frequency has risen sharply in modern autumn-sown varieties [1]. The combination of the PhyC substitution and the winter-type VRN1 haplotype is described as the module that underpins this adaptation [1].

To test causality, the researchers applied base editing in barley and wheat. They report that the PhyC–VRN1 flowering-time combination is functionally conserved across Triticeae [1].

The authors conclude that the module was selected during modern breeding to enable intensive crop rotations, and that it is a breeding-relevant module validated experimentally [1]. They also state that precision genome editing can be used to reconstruct such adaptive modules for the design of climate-resilient crops [1]. The available summary of the paper does not give numerical effects on heading date or maturity.

## Sources

1. [Nature](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11187-y)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-b648bc0e69309dbfb6827054_barley_phyc_vrn1/