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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Houma, Louisiana » Sugarcane Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355824
Title: Recent developments in the biosystematics and molecular biology of sugarcane

Author
item MUHAMMAD, KHUSHI - Hazara University
item AHMAD, WAQAR - University Of The Punjab
item AHMAD, HABIB - Hazara University
item ALI, EZED - Hazara University
item IQBAL, JAVED - Hazara University
item Pan, Yong-Bao

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/6/2018
Publication Date: 1/24/2019
Citation: Muhammad, K., Ahmad, W., Ahmad, H., Ali, E., Iqbal, J., Pan, Y.-B. 2019. Recent developments in the biosystematics and molecular biology of sugarcane. In: Öztürk, M. et al. Crop Production Technologies for Sustainable Use and Conservation. Palm Bay, FL. Apple Academic Press Inc. p. 131-153.

Interpretive Summary: Sugarcane is an important industrial sugar crop that has a complex genome consisting of multiple sets of chromosomes. The genome size ranges from 760 to 926 Mbp with total chromosome number from 100 to 130 . Sugarcane/sugar production is severely affected by a number of factors, among which pathogenic diseases are very evident. Among the most significant sugarcane diseases are brown leaf rust, ratoon stunt, red rot, sugarcane mosaic, smut, stem canker, leaf spot and pokkah boeng. The most economical, effective and justified ways to enhance sugarcane yields are through breeding improved varieties resistant to diseases. In this review, a synthesis of the most cited results is provided with respect to modern research developments in the sugarcane crop, including its origin, domestication, and diffusion, taxonomy, genome structure and molecular variation, relation to other grasses, and diseases. During the last three decades, a lot of research has been made on sugarcane with respect to its genome constitution and genotyping of the improved cultivars. In particular, the identification and application of molecular markers have increased the precision of identifying desired genes for different agronomic traits and their introgression into improved sugarcane cultivars. Recently, attempts were also extended to find out the association of molecular markers, i.e. Random Ampfied Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR), and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR (AFLP) to several sugarcane diseases.

Technical Abstract: Sugarcane is an important industrial crop cultivated on one million ha of land producing 63 million tons of sugar and providing job opportunities to millions of people both in urban and rural areas of Pakistan. The biosystematics of sugarcane shows that the crop evolved through inter-secific hybridization and continuous selection of the introgressed genes for the desirable traits. The modern sugarcane is a hybrid derived from Saccharum officinarum (Noble clone), S. sinese (Chinese clone), S. barberi (North Indian clone) and S. spontaneum (Wild clone). The sugarcane is polyploid with repeated aneuploid additions, has a complex genome. The chromosome number in the commercial cultivars ranges between 100-130 2n with the genome size ranging from 760 to 926 Mbp. Sugarcane production is severely affected by a number of factors among which pathogenic diseases are very evident. Among the most significant sugarcane diseases are brown leaf rust, ratoon stunt, red rot, sugarcane mosaic, smut, stem canker, leaf spot and pokkah boeng. The most economical, effective and justified ways to enhance sugarcane yield is through breeding improved varieties resistant to insects and pest diseases. Review of the available literature shows that during the last three decades a lot of development has been made with respect to its genome constitution and genotyping of the improved cultivars and associated land acres. In recent years, the use of molecular markers in sugarcane crop has increased the precision of identifying desired genes for different agronomic traits and their introgression in improved genotypes. Recently, different attempts were made to find out the association of molecular markers, i.e. Random Ampfied Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR (AFLP) with disease responses. This paper provides a synthesis of the most cited result available with respect to modern development in the sugarcane crops.