A short stature allele enhances tolerance to zinc deficiency and translocation of zinc in barley

In zinc-deficient conditions, <i>sdw1.d</i> allele increased shoot dry weight by 112.4 mg plant^-1, shoot Zn concentration by 0.9 ppm, but decreased root Zn concentration by 6.6 ppm. It did not affect grain characteristics, but increased grain Zn content. In zinc-sufficient conditions, <i>sdw1.d</i> allele increased shoot Zn content, and decreased root Zn content. <i>sdw1.d</i> did not affect grain weight but increased grain Zn concentration by about 30% under zinc-sufficient conditions. The results showed that <i>sdw1.d</i> allele has no negative effect on tolerance to zinc deficiency, and even promotes tolerance to zinc deficiency by more Zn translocation. It was revealed that <i>sdw1.d</i> allele improves Zn accumulation under both zinc-deficient and zinc-sufficient condition. The <i>sdw1.d</i> allele could contribute to solving the problems in plant growth and development caused by zinc-deficiency <i>via</i> improving tolerance to zinc-deficiency. It could also provide a better Zn biofortification.