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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 #399043
Research Project: Discovery and Improvement of Traits to Enhance Sorghum as a Multiple Purpose Crop

Location: Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research

Title: Induced Novel Genetic Variation for sorghum improvement by Random Mutagenesis

Author
item JIAO, YINPING - Texas Tech University
item Xin, Zhanguo
item Hayes, Chad
item Bean, Scott

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/14/2022
Publication Date: 10/18/2022
Citation: Jiao, Y., Xin, Z., Hayes, C.M., Bean, S.R. 2022. Induced Novel Genetic Variation for sorghum improvement by Random Mutagenesis. USDA-ARS & TTU Reserach Spotlight.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Genetic variations are the source for the crop improvement through breeding. Mutation Breeding is a classical and effective approach to generate diversity and create novel traits. A manageable number of heavily mutated lines can yield large numbers of mutations covering the entire genome and produce a plethora of phenotypes. Here, the TTU sorghum molecular geneticist is collaborating with the ARS scientists to incorporate novel beneficial variations into sorghum breeding. We have created large sorghum mutant populations within two different genetic background: the reference genome line BTx623 and the sugarcane aphid resistance line Tx2783. Mutants associated with many important agronomic traits have been identified, including multiple tillers, erect leaves, multiple seeds and so on. Further screening of mutants related to sorghum grain quality is also undergoing. To combine the mutant resource with marker assisted breeding, we have established highly efficient and cost-effective pipelines for causal variation identification by sequencing. Molecular markers will later be designed to accelerate the breeding process with the mutant resource. To make the mutant populations as a foundation for plant biologists to study sorghum gene function, we sequenced 1,256 lines randomly selected from the mutant library and generated >8.8 million EMS-induced mutations. A searchable database is now under construction for easy public access to the data, protocols, and germplasms. With the long-term collaboration among TTU and ARS sorghum scientists, the mutant population will provide a valuable resource for sorghum improvement and genetics research.