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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Crop Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393570
Research Project: Characterization of Sorghum Pathogens and Identification of Sorghum Germplasm with Resistance to Multiple Diseases

Location: Crop Germplasm Research

Title: Response of senegalese sorghum seedlings to pathotype 5 of Sporisorium reilianum

Author
item AHN, EZEKIEL - Texas A&M University
item Prom, Louis
item FALL, COUMBA - Texas A&M University
item MAGILL, CLINT - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Crops
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/26/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Sorghum head smut, a soil-borne fungus, can cause yield losses of up to 80% when susceptible lines are planted. The use of resistant sources is the best means to control the disease. For rapid determination of head smut resistance, three methods were tested using sorghum lines from Senegal. The results showed that syringe inoculation is the most reliable and effective method in identifying head smut resistance in sorghum. This work is significant because the Senegal resistant lines identified in this study can be used in breeding programs to develop head smut resistant lines and hybrids for producers.

Technical Abstract: Sporisorium reilianum causes head smut in sorghum. Thirty-six Senegalese sorghum accessions comprised of sorghum lines that haven’t been explored with response to pathotype 5 of S. reilianum were evaluated with three different treatments. First, seedling shoots were inoculated while still in soil with teliospores in agar, and then submerged under water at 4 days post inoculation. Signs of infection (noticeable spots) on the first leaf were observed up to 6 days post submergence. Second, seedlings at the same stage were inoculated by placing the teliospore impregnated agar around the stem in pots, moved to a greenhouse and grown to full panicle development stage. Third, seedings were inoculated via syringe inoculation in the greenhouse. Although soil inoculated seedlings grown in the greenhouse did not result in systemic infection as determined by lack of symptoms at panicle exsertion, 88.9% of tested cultivars showed systemic infections when syringe inoculated in the greenhouse. Inoculation of seedlings maintained under water led to broad range of noticeable spots that are assumed to be potential infection sites based on a previous study. In addition, seedling inoculation led to slightly upregulated expression of chitinase and PR10, genes that are associated with defense in aerial parts of plants.