Dynamic phytomeric growth contributes to local adaptation in barley

We show that in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), selections under domestication have extended the apical meristematic phase to promote node initiation, but constrained subsequent internode elongation. Genetic and functional analysis suggest that, in addition to their converging roles in node initiation, flowering time genes are repurposed to specify the dynamic internode elongation. Our study provides an integrated view of barley node initiation and internode elongation, and suggests that plant architecture has to be recognized as dynamic phytomeric units in the context of crop evolution.