Publications by authors named "G Ejeta"

The parasitic weed Striga (Striga hermonthica) limits productivity of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and other cereals in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Improved host plant genetics is an effective control method but verified loci contributing to Striga resistance are limited. LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 remains the only known sorghum locus affecting resistance to Striga.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The genetic resources of sorghum in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, are underutilized for developing new cultivars, despite their potential for local adaptation and improved traits.
  • A study characterized 560 sorghum accessions, using genotyping by sequencing to identify significant genetic diversity, revealing 10 distinct clusters that align with botanical races and ecological types.
  • The findings suggest a strong foundation for hybrid breeding programs by leveraging local germplasm, aiming to enhance productivity and resilience in sorghum cultivars.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Sorghum anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum sublineola, is a significant disease affecting sorghum crops, and the study identifies two dominant resistance genes, ARG4 and ARG5, linked to this disease.
  • Both genes encode for NLR receptors and were found in sorghum lines SAP135 and P9830, exhibiting broad-spectrum resistance to various strains of the fungus.
  • Genetic mapping and comparative genomics reveal that ARG4 and ARG5 are within clusters of duplicate NLR genes, suggesting a complex genetic relationship with potential implications for future breeding and resistance studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), the fifth most widely grown cereal crop globally, provides food security for millions of people. Anthracnose caused by the fungus Colletotrichum sublineola is a major disease of sorghum worldwide. We discovered a major fungal resistance locus in sorghum composed of the nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptor gene ANTHRACNOSE RESISTANCE GENE1 (ARG1) that is completely nested in an intron of a cis-natural antisense transcript (NAT) gene designated CARRIER OF ARG1 (CARG).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genetic analysis of brown midrib sorghum () mutant lines assembled in our program has previously shown that the mutations fall into four allelic groups, , , or . Causal genes for allelic groups , and , have since been identified. In this report, we provide evidence for the nature of the mutation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF