Publications by authors named "Kassahun Bantte"

Drought is a significant factor that causes yield loss in essential cereal crops such as sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], necessitating the development of drought-tolerant varieties adaptable to various water conditions. This study aimed to pinpoint drought-tolerant sorghum lines and genomic regions for tolerance by utilizing 216 sorghum accessions in stressed and non-stressed environments at two locations.

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Soil acidity in Ethiopian highlands impacts barley production, affecting root system architecture. Study on 300 accessions showed significant trait variability, with potential for breeding enhancement. Soil acidity poses a significant challenge to crop production in the highland regions of Ethiopia, particularly impacting barley, a crucial staple crop.

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The identification of genomic regions underlying the root system architecture (RSA) is vital for improving crop abiotic stress tolerance. To improve sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) for environmental stress tolerance, information on genetic variability and genomic regions linked to RSA traits is paramount.

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This study quantified genetic variation in root system architecture (root number, angle, length and dry mass) within a diversity panel of 1771 Ethiopian sorghum landraces and identified 22 genomic regions associated with the root variations. The root system architecture (RSA) of crop plants influences adaptation to water-limited conditions and determines the capacity of a plant to access soil water and nutrients. Four key root traits (number, angle, length and dry mass) were evaluated in a diversity panel of 1771 Ethiopian sorghum landraces using purpose-built root chambers.

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Unlabelled: Uncovering the genetic basis of agronomic traits in sorghum landraces that have adapted to various agro-climatic conditions would contribute to sorghum improvement efforts around the world. To identify quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) associated with nine agronomic traits in a panel of 304 sorghum accessions collected from diverse environments across Ethiopia (considered to be the center of origin and diversity), multi-locus genome-wide association studies (ML-GWAS) were performed using 79,754 high quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Association analyses using six ML-GWAS models identified a set of 338 significantly ( ≥ 3)-associated QTNs for nine agronomic traits of sorghum accessions evaluated in two environments (E1 and E2) and their combined dataset (Em).

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Article Synopsis
  • Drought stress significantly limits crop production in the Sahel region of Africa, prompting researchers to explore genetic variation to enhance the drought tolerance of a sorghum cultivar called Teshale, bred for Ethiopian conditions.
  • The study assessed a population created from Teshale and 12 diverse founder lines, revealing that these hybrids exhibited improved traits like higher head exsertion and reduced leaf senescence in drought-prone environments, indicating new resilience mechanisms.
  • The research identified 154 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to drought-responsive traits, with many overlapping with previously identified QTLs and suggesting that beneficial alleles from both Teshale and exotic donors could enhance drought resilience and predictive accuracy for grain yield.
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Ethiopia, the probable center of origin and diversity for sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)] and with unique ecogeographic features, possesses a large number of sorghum landraces that have not been well studied. Increased knowledge of this diverse germplasm through large-scale genomic characterization may contribute for understanding of evolutionary biology, and adequate use of these valuable resources from the center of origin.

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Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites are an important class of molecular markers for genome analysis and plant breeding applications. In this paper, the SSR distributions within ESTs from the legumes soybean (Glycine max, representing 135.86 Mb), medicago (Medicago truncatula, 121.

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