Dual-RNA-sequencing to elucidate the interactions between sorghum and .

In warm and humid regions, the productivity of sorghum is significantly limited by the fungal hemibiotrophic pathogen , the causal agent of anthracnose, a problematic disease of sorghum ( (L.) Moench) that can result in grain and biomass yield losses of up to 50%. Despite available genomic resources of both the host and fungal pathogen, the molecular basis of sorghum- interactions are poorly understood.

Genetic Diversity and Classification of Pathotypes Using a Standard Set of Sorghum Differentials.

Anthracnose, incited by is the most destructive foliar disease of sorghum and, under severe conditions, yield losses can exceed 80% on susceptible cultivars. The hyper-variable nature of the pathogen makes its management challenging despite the occurrence of several resistant sources. In this study, the genetic variability and pathogenicity of 140 isolates of which were sequenced using restriction site-associated sequencing (RAD-Seq), resulted in 1244 quality SNPs.

The Sigatoka Disease Complex Caused by spp. and Other Fungal Pathogens Associated with spp. in Puerto Rico.

Bananas ( spp.) are among the world's most economically important staple food crops. The most important fungal leaf diseases of spp.

Genetic diversity, population structure and anthracnose resistance response in a novel sweet sorghum diversity panel.

Sweet sorghum is an attractive feedstock for the production of renewable chemicals and fuels due to the readily available fermentable sugars that can be extracted from the juice, and the additional stream of fermentable sugars that can be obtained from the cell wall polysaccharides in the bagasse. An important selection criterion for new sweet sorghum germplasm is resistance to anthracnose, a disease caused by the fungal pathogen The identification of novel anthracnose-resistance sources present in sweet sorghum germplasm offers a fast track towards the development of new resistant sweet sorghum germplasm. We established a sweet sorghum diversity panel (SWDP) of 272 accessions from the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm (NPGS) collection that includes landraces from 22 countries and advanced breeding material, and that represents ~15% of the NPGS sweet sorghum collection.

A Sorghum F-Box Protein Induces an Oxidative Burst in the Defense Against .

The hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen is the causal agent of anthracnose in sorghum (), resulting in leaf blight, stalk rot, and head blight in susceptible genotypes, with yield losses of up to 50%. The development of anthracnose-resistant cultivars can reduce reliance on fungicides and provide a more sustainable and economical means for disease management. A previous genome-wide association study of the sorghum association panel identified the candidate resistance gene encoding an F-box protein.

Sorghum genetic, genomic, and breeding resources.

Sorghum research has entered an exciting and fruitful era due to the genetic, genomic, and breeding resources that are now available to researchers and plant breeders. As the world faces the challenges of a rising population and a changing global climate, new agricultural solutions will need to be developed to address the food and fiber needs of the future. To that end, sorghum will be an invaluable crop species as it is a stress-resistant C plant that is well adapted for semi-arid and arid regions.

The inheritance of anthracnose (Colletotrichum sublineola) resistance in sorghum differential lines QL3 and IS18760.

Anthracnose caused by the fungal pathogen C. sublineola is an economically important constraint on worldwide sorghum production. The most effective strategy to safeguard yield is through the introgression of resistance alleles.

Genomic Dissection of Anthracnose () Resistance Response in Sorghum Differential Line SC112-14.

Sorghum production is expanding to warmer and more humid regions where its production is being limited by multiple fungal pathogens. Anthracnose, caused by , is one of the major diseases in these regions, where it can cause yield losses of both grain and biomass. In this study, 114 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from resistant sorghum line SC112-14 were evaluated at four distinct geographic locations in the United States for response to anthracnose.

Evaluation of genetic diversity, agronomic traits, and anthracnose resistance in the NPGS Sudan Sorghum Core collection.

Background: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) sorghum core collection contains 3011 accessions randomly selected from 77 countries. Genomic and phenotypic characterization of this core collection is necessary to encourage and facilitate its utilization in breeding programs and to improve conservation efforts. In this study, we examined the genome sequences of 318 accessions belonging to the NPGS Sudan sorghum core set, and characterized their agronomic traits and anthracnose resistance response.

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Grain Mold Resistance in the US Sorghum Association Panel.

Sorghum [ (L.) Moench] production in warm and humid regions is limited by grain mold disease, which can be caused by a complex of >40 pathogenic and opportunistic fungi. The identification of resistant plants within temperate-adapted germplasm is imperative for the development of better-adapted varieties.

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Anthracnose () Resistance in NPGS Ethiopian Sorghum Germplasm.

The National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) Ethiopian sorghum [ (L.) Moench] collection of the United States is an important genetic resource for sorghum improvement. Anthracnose () is one of the most harmful fungal diseases in humid sorghum production regions.

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Anthracnose () Resistance in the U.S. Sorghum Association Panel.

The productivity and profitability of sorghum [ (L.) Moench] is reduced by susceptibility to fungal diseases, such as anthracnose ( P. Henn.

Population structure of the NPGS Senegalese sorghum collection and its evaluation to identify new disease resistant genes.

Sorghum germplasm from West and Central Africa is cultivated in rainy and high humidity regions and is an important source of resistance genes to fungal diseases. Mold and anthracnose are two important biotic constraints to sorghum production in wet areas worldwide. Here, 158 National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) accessions from Senegal were evaluated for agronomic traits, anthracnose, and grain mold resistance at two locations, and genetically characterized according to 20 simple sequence repeat markers.

Genomic characterization of a core set of the USDA-NPGS Ethiopian sorghum germplasm collection: implications for germplasm conservation, evaluation, and utilization in crop improvement.

Background: The USDA Agriculture Research Service National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) preserves the largest sorghum germplasm collection in the world, which includes 7,217 accessions from the center of diversity in Ethiopia. The characterization of this exotic germplasm at a genome-wide scale will improve conservation efforts and its utilization in research and breeding programs. Therefore, we phenotyped a representative core set of 374 Ethiopian accessions at two locations for agronomic traits and characterized the genomes.

The Evolution of Photoperiod-Insensitive Flowering in Sorghum, A Genomic Model for Panicoid Grasses.

Of central importance in adapting plants of tropical origin to temperate cultivation has been selection of daylength-neutral genotypes that flower early in the temperate summer and take full advantage of its long days. A cross between tropical and temperate sorghums [Sorghum propinquum (Kunth) Hitchc.×S.

Assessment of genetic diversity of sweet potato in Puerto Rico.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is the seventh most important food crop due to its distinct advantages, such as adaptability to different environmental conditions and high nutritional value. Assessing the genetic diversity of this important crop is necessary due to the constant increase of demand for food and the need for conservation of agricultural and genetic resources.

Seed shattering in a wild sorghum is conferred by a locus unrelated to domestication.

Suppression of seed shattering was a key step during crop domestication that we have previously suggested to be convergent among independent cereal lineages. Positional, association, expression, and mutant complementation data all implicate a WRKY transcription factor, SpWRKY, in conferring shattering to a wild sorghum relative, Sorghum propinquum. We hypothesize that SpWRKY functions in a manner analogous to Medicago and Arabidopsis homologs that regulate cell wall biosynthesis genes, with low expression toward the end of floral development derepressing downstream cell wall biosynthesis genes to allow deposition of lignin that initiates the abscission zone in the seed-pedicel junction.

Association analysis of photoperiodic flowering time genes in west and central African sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench].

Background: Photoperiod-sensitive flowering is a key adaptive trait for sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in West and Central Africa. In this study we performed an association analysis to investigate the effect of polymorphisms within the genes putatively related to variation in flowering time on photoperiod-sensitive flowering in sorghum. For this purpose a genetically characterized panel of 219 sorghum accessions from West and Central Africa was evaluated for their photoperiod response index (PRI) based on two sowing dates under field conditions.

Syntenic relationships between cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and melon (C. melo L.) chromosomes as revealed by comparative genetic mapping.

Background: Cucumber, Cucumis sativus L. (2n = 2 × = 14) and melon, C. melo L.

A consensus linkage map for molecular markers and quantitative trait loci associated with economically important traits in melon (Cucumis melo L.).

Background: A number of molecular marker linkage maps have been developed for melon (Cucumis melo L.) over the last two decades. However, these maps were constructed using different marker sets, thus, making comparative analysis among maps difficult.