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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #412970
Research Project: Improved Conversion of Sugar Crops into Food, Biofuels, Biochemicals, and Bioproducts

Location: Commodity Utilization Research

Title: Freeze response indicators in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids)

Author
item Uchimiya, Sophie
item REIS, ANGRE - University Of Missouri
item LAGO, BRUNO - University Of Missouri
item KAITLYN, TAYLOR - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item HÖNER ZU BENTRUP, KERSTIN - Tulane University
item ELLIS, DIANDRA - Tulane University
item KIMBENG, COLLINS - Louisiana State University

Submitted to: Micron
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/4/2024
Publication Date: 10/9/2024
Citation: Uchimiya, M., Borja Reis, A.F.D., Lago, B.C., Taylor, K., Höner Zu Bentrup, K., Ellis, D., Kimbeng, C. 2024. Freeze response indicators in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids). Micron. 188: Article 109726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2024.103726.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2024.103726

Interpretive Summary: New methods were developed to see stress markers in different varieties of sugarcane. The method could be used to produce new sugarcane varieties resistant to extreme weather. This approach could allow producers to maintain sugar yields even under the damaging weather including summer drought and winter freeze.

Technical Abstract: Extreme weather stress from winter freeze and summer drought impacted sugarcane growth and raw sugar production in the recent years. Chemical markers are in demand to develop climate resilient sugarcane varieties. The marker will allow sugarcane breeders to select parents and clones before the damaging abiotic stress happens. Visual markers were developed using fluorescence microscopy to rank cultivars by the cold tolerance and to investigate the structural components contributing to the tolerance. Tolerant check (HoCP04-838) sustained the lowest (3-5 fold lower than other tested varieties) stalk cracking from the sub-freeze temperature, had among the highest fiber content, and maintained the lowest particulate juice decomposition products (p<0.05). Developed fluorescence microscopy method visualized a cluster of markers on lignin cells around the vascular bundles of HoCP04-838, within the far red emission ranges attributable to lipids. Developed abiotic stress markers could be used to expedite the sugarcane breeding and to elucidate the tolerance mechanism for diverse environmental stress including freeze, drought, and other water stress.