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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #366395
Research Project: Genetic Improvement of Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Nutritional Quality in Hard Winter Wheat

Location: Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research

Title: Allelochemicals targeted to balance competing selections in African agroecosystems

Author
item WU, YUYE - Iowa State University
item WU, YUN - Kansas State University
item GAO, TINGTING - Iowa State University
item MU, QI - Iowa State University
item WANG, JINYU - Iowa State University
item LI, XIN - Iowa State University
item TIAN, BIN - Kansas State University
item Wang, Ming
item Bai, Guihua
item RAMASAMY, PERUMAL - Kansas State University
item TRICK, HAROLD - Kansas State University
item Bean, Scott
item ISMAIL, DWEIKAT - University Of Nebraska
item TURINSTA, MITCHELL - Indiana University-Purdue University
item MORRIS, GEOFFREY - Kansas State University
item TESFAYE, TESSO - Kansas State University
item YU, JIANMING - Iowa State University
item LI, XIANRAN - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Nature Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/2019
Publication Date: 12/2/2019
Citation: Wu, Y., Wu, Y., Gao, T., Mu, Q., Wang, J., Li, X., Tian, B., Wang, M.L., Bai, G., Ramasamy, P., Trick, H.N., Bean, S.R., Ismail, D.M., Turinsta, M.R., Morris, G., Tesfaye, T.T., Yu, J., Li, X. 2019. Allelochemicals targeted to balance competing selection forces in African agroecosystems. Nature Plants. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-019-0563-0.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-019-0563-0

Interpretive Summary: Grain of most sorghum cultivars contains condensed tannins that can trigger bitter taste perception in animals. Condensed tannins effectively prevented sparrows from eating sorghum grain. This study identified two duplicate recessive genes (Tan1 and Tan2) conditioning the tannin content in sorghum grain. Interestingly, humans independently have selected both tannin and non- tannin alleles of two genes that both are beneficial to humans with tannin defending against herbivore threats and non-tannin desired for palatable food. Different human groups likely had driven this bidirectional selection according to varied local herbivore threats and taste sensitivity. The results suggest a coevolution interaction between humans and plants linked by allelochemicals to adapt to local environments.

Technical Abstract: Among major cereals domesticated as staple food, only sorghum has a high proportion of cultivars with condensed tannins in grain, which can trigger bitter perception in animals by binding to type 2 taste receptors (TAS2Rs). Here we report the uncovering of a pair of duplicate recessive genes (Tan1 and Tan2) underlying the tannin presence. Condensed tannins effectively prevented sparrows from consuming sorghum grain. Interestingly, both dominant and recessive alleles of two genes have undergone independent artificial selection because of their respective benefits to humans: tannin defending against herbivore threats and non-tannin desired for palatable food. Association between geographic distributions of human TAS2R variants in African populations and tannin sorghum cultivars across Africa suggested that different human groups likely had driven this bidirectional selection according to varied local herbivore threats and taste sensitivity. Our investigation uncovers a coevolution interaction between humans and plants linked by allelochemicals to adapt to local environments.