Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Houma, Louisiana » Sugarcane Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319572
Title: Estimating broad sense heritability and investigating the mechanism of genetic transmission of cold tolerance using mannitol as a measure of post-freeze juice degradation in sugarcane and energycane (Saccharum spp.)

Author
item Hale, Anna
item VIATOR, RYAN - Calvin Viator & Associates
item Eggleston, Gillian
item HODNETT, GEORGE - Texas A&M University
item STELLY, DAVID - Texas A&M University
item Boykin, Deborah
item MILLER, DONNIE - Louisiana State University Agcenter

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/29/2016
Publication Date: 2/17/2016
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5207593
Citation: Hale, A.L., Viator, R.P., Eggleston, G., Hodnett, G., Stelly, D., Boykin, D.L., Miller, D. 2016. Estimating broad sense heritability and investigating the mechanism of genetic transmission of cold tolerance using mannitol as a measure of post-freeze juice degradation in sugarcane and energycane (Saccharum spp.). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 64(8):1657-1663. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.5b03803.

Interpretive Summary: Although sugarcane is considered a tropical crop, roughly 25 percent of the acreage of the crop is grown in subtropical areas prone to damaging freezes. Little is known about resistance to freezing temperatures in high-fiber sugarcane varieties grown for energy production (a.k.a. energycane). A study was conducted in North Louisiana to compare cold tolerance among energycane varieties derived from the USDA breeding stations in Houma, LA, and Canal Point, FL. Freeze tolerance was measured in the juice by detecting mannitol, which is formed when the sugar is degraded by bacteria that enter cracks in the stalks following exposure to freezing temperatures. Varieties selected in the basic breeding program at the USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma, LA, were significantly more cold tolerant than varieties derived from other sources. It was determined that this freeze tolerance is controlled by genetic factors that can be incorporated into a breeding program. The mannitol method used in this study is a relatively new method that was successful in discriminating between levels of freeze tolerance in energycane varieties.

Technical Abstract: In approximately 25% of the sugarcane producing countries world-wide, conventional sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is exposed to damaging freezes. Resistance to freezing temperatures varies greatly among sugarcane cultivars, but the relationship is not well established for energycane (>14% fiber). A study was conducted during the 2009 and 2010 harvest seasons to compare late-season freeze tolerance among three groups: commercial Louisiana sugarcane cultivars, early-generation clones selected for cold-tolerance in the USDA-ARS sugarcane breeding programs at Houma, LA and Canal Point, FL, and potential energycane cultivars. Mannitol concentrations in cane juice following freezing temperatures were determined to evaluate levels of cold tolerance. Mannitol is formed when the sugar is degraded by bacteria that enter cracks in the stalks following exposure to freezing temperatures. Clones selected for cold tolerance in Houma, LA had significantly more late-season freeze tolerance than commercial sugarcane cultivars and clones selected in Canal Point, FL. Clones showing the most tolerance were selected for cold tolerance through the USDA-ARS basic breeding program in Houma, LA Ho02-146 and Ho02-152, and those that were most highly susceptible were US87-1006 and US87-1003 (early generation breeding clones) and L99-233 (commercial cultivar). Broad sense heritability for late-season cold tolerance in the two year study was estimated at g2 = 0.78. The enzymatic mannitol analysis successfully differentiated high-fiber energycane cultivars from those from other sources.