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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386285
Research Project: Discovery and Improvement of Traits to Enhance Sorghum as a Multiple Purpose Crop

Location: Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research

Title: Enhanced sink capacity inbred lines of sorghum for genetic dissection of source-sink dynamics

Author
item Burow, Gloria
item Xin, Zhanguo
item Chen, Junping
item Hayes, Chad
item Payton, Paxton
item Chopra, Ratan
item Burke, John
item Emendack, Yves

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2021
Publication Date: 9/1/2021
Citation: Burow, G.B., Xin, Z., Chen, J., Hayes, C.M., Payton, P.R. 2021. Enhanced sink capacity inbred lines of sorghum for genetic dissection of source-sink dynamics [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. 2021 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, November 7-10, 2021 Salt Lake City, Utah.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench. L.) is a climate-smart cereal crop and an essential source of food and feed. Often cultivated on marginal soils and harsh environments, sorghum has known tolerance to elevated temperature and water-deficit stress at various stages of growth. However, a major knowledge gap for sorghum production is limited information on photosynthate allocation from source (leaves and stem) to sink tissues (seeds). This gap is considered as major limiting factor contributing to the lag in sustainable yield improvement. To address this challenge and assist in boosting sustainable sorghum yields, we used marker assisted rapid trait introgression technology to develop a recombinant inbred (RI) population and four backcrossed inbred lines with inherent enhanced sink capacity through multi-seededness [msd]. The inbred lines are characterized by a putatively enhanced sink capacity by producing more seeds per panicle compared to wild-type panicles. The RI population comprised 64 lines that displayed variation for mega agronomic traits including: canopy architecture, plant height, general insect resistance, and number of seeds per panicle. Analysis of backcrossed inbreds indicated a 5-10% increase in yield, and a notable increase in harvest index compared to conventional wild-type genetic backgrounds, BTX 399 and RTX430. Applications of these genetic resources for evaluation of source-sink dynamics in sorghum will be described.