QTL analysis of early-season cold tolerance in sorghum

Realizing visionary goals for the International Year of Millet (IYoM): accelerating interventions through advances in molecular breeding and multiomics resources

MAIN CONCLUSION

Leveraging advanced breeding and multi-omics resources is vital to position millet as an essential "nutricereal resource," aligning with IYoM goals, alleviating strain on global cereal production, boosting resilience to climate change, and advancing sustainable crop improvement and biodiversity. The global challenges of food security, nutrition, climate change, and agrarian sustainability demand the adoption of climate-resilient, nutrient-rich crops to support a growing population amidst shifting environmental conditions. Millets, also referred to as "Shree Anna," emerge as a promising solution to address these issues by bolstering food production, improving nutrient security, and fostering biodiversity conservation. Their resilience to harsh environments, nutritional density, cultural significance, and potential to enhance dietary quality index made them valuable assets in global agriculture. Recognizing their pivotal role, the United Nations designated 2023 as the "International Year of Millets (IYoM 2023)," emphasizing their contribution to climate-resilient agriculture and nutritional enhancement. Scientific progress has invigorated efforts to enhance millet production through genetic and genomic interventions, yielding a wealth of advanced molecular breeding technologies and multi-omics resources. These advancements offer opportunities to tackle prevailing challenges in millet, such as anti-nutritional factors, sensory acceptability issues, toxin contamination, and ancillary crop improvements. This review provides a comprehensive overview of molecular breeding and multi-omics resources for nine major millet species, focusing on their potential impact within the framework of IYoM. These resources include whole and pan-genome, elucidating adaptive responses to abiotic stressors, organelle-based studies revealing evolutionary resilience, markers linked to desirable traits for efficient breeding, QTL analysis facilitating trait selection, functional gene discovery for biotechnological interventions, regulatory ncRNAs for trait modulation, web-based platforms for stakeholder communication, tissue culture techniques for genetic modification, and integrated omics approaches enabled by precise application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Aligning these resources with the seven thematic areas outlined by IYoM catalyzes transformative changes in millet production and utilization, thereby contributing to global food security, sustainable agriculture, and enhanced nutritional consequences.

Precise colocalization of sorghum's major chilling tolerance locus with Tannin1 due to tight linkage drag rather than antagonistic pleiotropy

Chilling tolerance in crops can increase resilience through longer growing seasons, drought escape, and nitrogen use efficiency. In sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench), breeding for chilling tolerance has been stymied by coinheritance of the largest-effect chilling tolerance locus, qSbCT04.62, with the major gene underlying undesirable grain proanthocyanidins, WD40 transcriptional regulator Tannin1. To test if this coinheritance is due to antagonistic pleiotropy of Tannin1, we developed and studied near-isogenic lines (NILs) carrying chilling tolerant haplotypes at qCT04.62. Whole-genome sequencing of the NILs revealed introgressions spanning part of the qCT04.62 confidence interval, including the Tannin1 gene and an ortholog of Arabidopsis cold regulator CBF/DREB1G. Segregation pattern of grain tannin in NILs confirmed the presence of wildtype Tannin1 and the reconstitution of a functional MYB-bHLH-WD40 regulatory complex. Low-temperature germination did not differ between NILs, suggesting that Tannin1 does not modulate this component of chilling tolerance. Similarly, NILs did not differ in seedling growth rate under either of two contrasting controlled environment chilling scenarios. Finally, while the chilling tolerant parent line had notably different photosynthetic responses from the susceptible parent line - including greater non-photochemical quenching before, during, and after chilling - the NIL responses match the susceptible parent. Thus, our findings suggest that tight linkage drag, not pleiotropy, underlies the precise colocalization of Tan1 with qCT04.62 and the qCT04.62 quantitative trait nucleotide lies outside the NIL introgressions. Breaking linkage at this locus should advance chilling tolerance breeding in sorghum and the identification of a novel chilling tolerance regulator.

Genomics and phenomics enabled prebreeding improved early-season chilling tolerance in Sorghum

In temperate climates, earlier planting of tropical-origin crops can provide longer growing seasons, reduce water loss, suppress weeds, and escape post-flowering drought stress. However, chilling sensitivity of sorghum, a tropical-origin cereal crop, limits early planting, and over 50 years of conventional breeding has been stymied by coinheritance of chilling tolerance (CT) loci with undesirable tannin and dwarfing alleles. In this study, phenomics and genomics-enabled approaches were used for prebreeding of sorghum early-season CT. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-throughput phenotyping platform tested for improving scalability showed moderate correlation between manual and UAS phenotyping. UAS normalized difference vegetation index values from the chilling nested association mapping population detected CT quantitative trait locus (QTL) that colocalized with manual phenotyping CT QTL. Two of the 4 first-generation Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) molecular markers, generated using the peak QTL single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), failed to function in an independent breeding program as the CT allele was common in diverse breeding lines. Population genomic fixation index analysis identified SNP CT alleles that were globally rare but common to the CT donors. Second-generation markers, generated using population genomics, were successful in tracking the donor CT allele in diverse breeding lines from 2 independent sorghum breeding programs. Marker-assisted breeding, effective in introgressing CT allele from Chinese sorghums into chilling-sensitive US elite sorghums, improved early-planted seedling performance ratings in lines with CT alleles by up to 13-24% compared to the negative control under natural chilling stress. These findings directly demonstrate the effectiveness of high-throughput phenotyping and population genomics in molecular breeding of complex adaptive traits.

Recent advancements in the breeding of sorghum crop: current status and future strategies for marker-assisted breeding

Sorghum is emerging as a model crop for functional genetics and genomics of tropical grasses with abundant uses, including food, feed, and fuel, among others. It is currently the fifth most significant primary cereal crop. Crops are subjected to various biotic and abiotic stresses, which negatively impact on agricultural production. Developing high-yielding, disease-resistant, and climate-resilient cultivars can be achieved through marker-assisted breeding. Such selection has considerably reduced the time to market new crop varieties adapted to challenging conditions. In the recent years, extensive knowledge was gained about genetic markers. We are providing an overview of current advances in sorghum breeding initiatives, with a special focus on early breeders who may not be familiar with DNA markers. Advancements in molecular plant breeding, genetics, genomics selection, and genome editing have contributed to a thorough understanding of DNA markers, provided various proofs of the genetic variety accessible in crop plants, and have substantially enhanced plant breeding technologies. Marker-assisted selection has accelerated and precised the plant breeding process, empowering plant breeders all around the world.

Fine mapping of a QTL and identification of candidate genes associated with cold tolerance during germination in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on chromosome B09 using whole genome re-sequencing

Low temperatures significantly affect the growth and yield of peanuts. Temperatures lower than 12 °C are generally detrimental for the germination of peanuts. To date, there has been no report on precise information on the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for cold tolerance during the germination in peanuts. In this study, we developed a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population comprising 807 RILs by tolerant and sensitive parents. Phenotypic frequencies of germination rate low-temperature conditions among RIL population showed normally distributed in five environments. Then, we constructed a high density SNP-based genetic linkage map through whole genome re-sequencing (WGRS) technique and identified a major quantitative trait locus (QTL), qRGRB09, on chromosome B09. The cold tolerance-related QTLs were repeatedly detected in all five environments, and the genetic distance was 6.01 cM (46.74 cM - 61.75 cM) after taking a union set. To further confirm that qRGRB09 was located on chromosome B09, we developed Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) markers for the corresponding QTL regions. A regional QTL mapping analysis, which was conducted after taking the intersection of QTL intervals of all environments into account, confirmed that qRGRB09 was between the KASP markers, G22096 and G220967 (chrB09:155637831-155854093), and this region was 216.26 kb in size, wherein a total of 15 annotated genes were detected. This study illustrates the relevance of WGRS-based genetic maps for QTL mapping and KASP genotyping that facilitated QTL fine mapping of peanuts. The results of our study also provided useful information on the genetic architecture underlying cold tolerance during germination in peanuts, which in turn may be useful for those engaged in molecular studies as well as crop improvement in the cold-stressed environment.

Responses of sorghum to cold stress: A review focused on molecular breeding

Climate change has led to the search for strategies to acclimatize plants to various abiotic stressors to ensure the production and quality of crops of commercial interest. Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop, providing several uses including human food, animal feed, bioenergy, or industrial applications. The crop has an excellent adaptation potential to different types of abiotic stresses, such as drought, high salinity, and high temperatures. However, it is susceptible to low temperatures compared with other monocotyledonous species. Here, we have reviewed and discussed some of the research results and advances that focused on the physiological, metabolic, and molecular mechanisms that determine sorghum cold tolerance to improve our understanding of the nature of such trait. Questions and opportunities for a comprehensive approach to clarify sorghum cold tolerance or susceptibility are also discussed.

QTL Mapping Low-Temperature Germination Ability in the Maize IBM Syn10 DH Population

Chilling injury poses a serious threat to seed emergence of spring-sowing maize in China, which has become one of the main climatic limiting factors affecting maize production in China. It is of great significance to mine the key genes controlling low-temperature tolerance during seed germination and study their functions for breeding new maize varieties with strong low-temperature tolerance during germination. In this study, 176 lines of the intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) Syn10 doubled haploid (DH) population, which comprised 6618 bin markers, were used for QTL analysis of low-temperature germination ability. The results showed significant differences in germination related traits under optimum-temperature condition (25 °C) and low-temperature condition (10 °C) between two parental lines. In total, 13 QTLs were detected on all chromosomes, except for chromosome 5, 7, 10. Among them, seven QTLs formed five QTL clusters on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9 under the low-temperature condition, which suggested that there may be some genes regulating multiple germination traits at the same time. A total of 39 candidate genes were extracted from five QTL clusters based on the maize GDB under the low-temperature condition. To further screen candidate genes controlling low-temperature germination, RNA-Seq, in which RNA was extracted from the germination seeds of B73 and Mo17 at 10 °C, was conducted, and three B73 upregulated genes and five Mo17 upregulated genes were found by combined analysis of RNA-Seq and QTL located genes. Additionally, the variations of Zm00001d027976 (GLABRA2), Zm00001d007311 (bHLH transcription factor), and Zm00001d053703 (bZIP transcription factor) were found by comparison of amino sequence between B73 and Mo17. This study will provide a theoretical basis for marker-assisted breeding and lay a foundation for further revealing molecular mechanism of low-temperature germination tolerance in maize.

Sorghum genetic, genomic, and breeding resources

Sorghum research has entered an exciting and fruitful era due to the genetic, genomic, and breeding resources that are now available to researchers and plant breeders. As the world faces the challenges of a rising population and a changing global climate, new agricultural solutions will need to be developed to address the food and fiber needs of the future. To that end, sorghum will be an invaluable crop species as it is a stress-resistant C₄ plant that is well adapted for semi-arid and arid regions. Sorghum has already remained as a staple food crop in many parts of Africa and Asia and is critically important for animal feed and niche culinary applications in other regions, such as the United States. In addition, sorghum has begun to be developed into a promising feedstock for forage and bioenergy production. Due to this increasing demand for sorghum and its potential to address these needs, the continuous development of powerful community resources is required. These resources include vast collections of sorghum germplasm, high-quality reference genome sequences, sorghum association panels for genome-wide association studies of traits involved in food and bioenergy production, mutant populations for rapid discovery of causative genes for phenotypes relevant to sorghum improvement, gene expression atlas, and online databases that integrate all resources and provide the sorghum community with tools that can be used in breeding and genomic studies. Used in tandem, these valuable resources will ensure that the rate, quality, and collaborative potential of ongoing sorghum improvement efforts is able to rival that of other major crops.

Improving abiotic stress tolerance in sorghum: focus on the nutrient transporters and marker-assisted breeding

Identification of molecular markers and characterization of nutrient transporters could help to improve the tolerance under abiotic and low nutrient stresses in sorghum ensuring higher yield to conserve food security Sorghum is an important cereal crop delivering food and energy security in the semi-arid tropics of the world. Adverse climatic conditions induced by global warming and low input agriculture system in developing countries demand for the improvement of sorghum to tolerate various abiotic stresses. In this review, we discuss the application of marker-assisted breeding and nutrient transporter characterization studies targeted towards improving the tolerance of sorghum under drought, salinity, cold, low phosphate and nitrogen stresses. Family members of some nutrient transporters such as nitrate transporter (NRT), phosphate transporter (PHT) and sulphate transporter (SULTR) were identified and characterized for improving the low nutrient stress tolerance in sorghum. Several quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified for drought, salinity and cold stresses with an intention to enhance the tolerance of sorghum under these stresses. A very few QTL and nutrient transporters have been identified and validated under low nitrogen and phosphorus stresses compared to those under drought, salinity and cold stresses. Marker-assisted breeding and nutrient transporter characterization have not yet been attempted in sorghum under other macro- and micro-nutrient stresses. We hope this review will raise awareness among plant breeders, scientists and biotechnologists about the importance of sorghum and need to conduct the studies on marker-assisted breeding and nutrient transporter under low nutrient stresses to improve the sorghum production.

Sorghum mitigates climate variability and change on crop yield and quality

Global food insecurity concerns due to climate change, emphasizes the need to focus on the sensitivity of sorghum to climate change and potential crop improvement strategies available, which is discussed in the current review to promote climate-smart agriculture. Climate change effects immensely disturb the global agricultural systems by reducing crop production. Changes in extreme weather and climate events such as high-temperature episodes and extreme rainfalls events, droughts, flooding adversely affect the production of staple food crops, posing threat to ecosystem resilience. The resulting crop losses lead to food insecurity and poverty and question the sustainable livelihoods of small farmer communities, particularly in developing countries. In view of this, it is essential to focus and adapt climate-resilient food crops which need lower inputs and produce sustainable yields through various biotic and abiotic stress-tolerant traits. Sorghum, "the camel of cereals", is one such climate-resilient food crop that is less sensitive to climate change vulnerabilities and also an important staple food in many parts of Asia and Africa. It is a rainfed crop and provides many essential nutrients. Understanding sorghum's sensitivity to climate change provides scope for improvement of the crop both in terms of quantity and quality and alleviates food and feed security in future climate change scenarios. Thus, the current review focused on understanding the sensitivity of sorghum crop to various stress events due to climate change and throws light on different crop improvement strategies available to pave the way for climate-smart agriculture.

Genetic Architecture of Chilling Tolerance in Sorghum Dissected with a Nested Association Mapping Population

Dissecting the genetic architecture of stress tolerance in crops is critical to understand and improve adaptation. In temperate climates, early planting of chilling-tolerant varieties could provide longer growing seasons and drought escape, but chilling tolerance (<15°) is generally lacking in tropical-origin crops. Here we developed a nested association mapping (NAM) population to dissect the genetic architecture of early-season chilling tolerance in the tropical-origin cereal sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench). The NAM resource, developed from reference line BTx623 and three chilling-tolerant Chinese lines, is comprised of 771 recombinant inbred lines genotyped by sequencing at 43,320 single nucleotide polymorphisms. We phenotyped the NAM population for emergence, seedling vigor, and agronomic traits (>75,000 data points from ∼16,000 plots) in multi-environment field trials in Kansas under natural chilling stress (sown 30-45 days early) and normal growing conditions. Joint linkage mapping with early-planted field phenotypes revealed an oligogenic architecture, with 5-10 chilling tolerance loci explaining 20-41% of variation. Surprisingly, several of the major chilling tolerance loci co-localize precisely with the classical grain tannin (Tan1 and Tan2) and dwarfing genes (Dw1 and Dw3) that were under strong directional selection in the US during the 20^th century. These findings suggest that chilling sensitivity was inadvertently selected due to coinheritance with desired nontannin and dwarfing alleles. The characterization of genetic architecture with NAM reveals why past chilling tolerance breeding was stymied and provides a path for genomics-enabled breeding of chilling tolerance.

Sorghum as a Novel Crop for Central Europe: Using a Broad Diversity Set to Dissect Temperate-Adaptation

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a promising novel crop for Central Europe. However, enhancements in cold tolerance and early maturity are essential for a successful adaptation to cooler climates. We scored a broad sorghum diversity set (n = 338) for early chilling tolerance, high-latitude adaptation, and bioenergy related agronomical traits in multi-environment trials. Our results show a high phenotypic variation and medium to high heritabilities for most traits, indicating that a robust breeding progress is feasible. Several public accessions with a good adaptation to cooler climates were identified, which can serve as valuable base material for sorghum breeding in temperate areas. Genome-wide association studies reveal a polygenic (quantitative) character for most of the traits, confirming previous studies. Hence, for practical breeding, it will be difficult to conduct efficient marker-assisted selection for temperate-adaptation traits in genetically diverse material.

QTL-BSA: A Bulked Segregant Analysis and Visualization Pipeline for QTL-seq

In recent years, the application of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) on plants has generated sufficient data for the identification of trait-associated genomic loci or genes. A high-throughput genome-assisted QTL-seq strategy, combined with bulked-segregant analysis and WGS of two bulked populations from a segregating progeny with opposite phenotypic trait values, has gained increasing popularities in research community. However, there is no publicly available user friendly software for the identification and visualization. Hence, we developed a tool named QTL-BSA (QTL-bulked segregant analysis and visualization pipeline), which could facilitate the rapid identification and visualization of candidate QTLs from QTL-seq. As a proof-of-concept study, we have applied the tool for the rapid discovery and the identification of genes related with the partial blast resistance in rice. Genomic region of the major QTL identified on chromosome 6, is located between 1.52 and 4.32 Mb, which is consistent with previous studies (2.39-4.39 Mb). We also derived the gene and QTLs functional annotation of this region. QTL-BSA offers a comprehensive solution to facilitate a wide range of programming and visualization tasks in QTL-seq analysis, is expected to be used widely by the research community.

New candidate loci and marker genes on chromosome 7 for improved chilling tolerance in sorghum

Sorghum is often exposed to suboptimal low temperature stress under field conditions, particularly at the seedling establishment stage. Enhancing chilling tolerance will facilitate earlier planting and so minimize the negative impacts of other stresses experienced at later growth stages. Genome-wide association mapping was performed on a sorghum association panel grown under control (30/20 °C; day/night) and chilling (20/10 °C) conditions. Genomic regions on chromosome 7, controlling the emergence index and seedling (root and shoot) vigor, were associated with increased chilling tolerance but they did not co-localize with undesirable tannin content quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Shoot and root samples from highly contrasting haplotype pairs expressing differential responses to chilling stress were used to identify candidate genes. Three candidate genes (an alpha/beta hydrolase domain protein, a DnaJ/Hsp40 motif-containing protein, and a YTH domain-containing RNA-binding protein) were expressed at significantly higher levels under chilling stress in the tolerant haplotype compared with the sensitive haplotype and BTx623. Moreover, two CBF/DREB1A transcription factors on chromosome 2 showed a divergent response to chilling in the contrasting haplotypes. These studies identify haplotype differences on chromosome 7 that modulate chilling tolerance by either regulating CBF or feeding back into this signaling pathway. We have identified new candidate genes that will be useful markers in ongoing efforts to develop tannin-free chilling-tolerant sorghum hybrids.

Genetic Architecture of domestication- and improvement-related traits using a population derived from Sorghum virgatum and Sorghum bicolor

The genetic basis of domestication and improvement remains largely unknown in sorghum as a typical multiple-origins species. In this study, the F₂ and F₃ populations derived from a cross between Sorghum virgatum and domesticated sorghum were used to study the genetic architecture of domestication- and improvement-related traits. We found that human selection had greatly reshaped sorghum through the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) with large genetic effects in the traits of harvest, plant architecture and grain taste including the reduction of shattering, few branches, short plant stature and the removal of polyphenols from seed. The expansion of seed width was selected to improve the yield through accumulating small-effect QTLs. Two major QTLs of plant height (QTI-ph1 and dw1) were narrowed down into 24.5-kilobase (kb) and 13.9-kb, respectively. DNA diversity analysis and association mapping of dw1 gene suggested the functional variant (A1361 T) might originate from the same event not long time ago. Our results supported that parallel phenotypic changes across different species during domestication and improvement might share the same genetic basis, QTL × QTL interactions might not play an important role in the reshaping of traits during sorghum domestication and improvement, and offered new views on transgressive segregation and segregation distortion. Our study greatly deepens our understandings of the genetic basis of sorghum domestication and improvement.

Quantitative Trait Loci for Freezing Tolerance in a Lowland x Upland Switchgrass Population

Low-temperature related abiotic stress is an important factor affecting winter survival in lowland switchgrass when grown in northern latitudes in the United States. A better understanding of the genetic architecture of freezing tolerance in switchgrass will aid the development of lowland switchgrass cultivars with improved winter survival. The objectives of this study were to conduct a freezing tolerance assessment, generate a genetic map using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, and identify QTL (quantitative trait loci) associated with freezing tolerance in a lowland × upland switchgrass population. A pseudo-F2 mapping population was generated from an initial cross between the lowland population Ellsworth and the upland cultivar Summer. The segregating progenies were screened for freezing tolerance in a controlled-environment facility. Two clonal replicates of each genotype were tested at six different treatment temperatures ranging from -15 to -5°C at an interval of 2°C for two time periods. Tiller emergence (days) and tiller number were recorded following the recovery of each genotype with the hypothesis that upland genotype is the source for higher tiller number and early tiller emergence. Survivorship of the pseudo-F2 population ranged from 89% at -5°C to 5% at -15°C with an average LT50 of -9.7°C. Genotype had a significant effect on all traits except tiller number at -15°C. A linkage map was constructed from bi-allelic single nucleotide polymorphism markers generated using exome capture sequencing. The final map consisted of 1618 markers and 2626 cM, with an average inter-marker distance of 1.8 cM. Six significant QTL were identified, one each on chromosomes 1K, 5K, 5N, 6K, 6N, and 9K, for the following traits: tiller number, tiller emergence days and LT50. A comparative genomics study revealed important freezing tolerance genes/proteins, such as COR47, DREB2B, zinc finger-CCCH, WRKY, GIGANTEA, HSP70, and NRT2, among others that reside within the 1.5 LOD confidence interval of the identified QTL.

The Sorghum QTL Atlas: a powerful tool for trait dissection, comparative genomics and crop improvement

We describe the development and application of the Sorghum QTL Atlas, a high-resolution, open-access research platform to facilitate candidate gene identification across three cereal species, sorghum, maize and rice. The mechanisms governing the genetic control of many quantitative traits are only poorly understood and have yet to be fully exploited. Over the last two decades, over a thousand QTL and GWAS studies have been published in the major cereal crops including sorghum, maize and rice. A large body of information has been generated on the genetic basis of quantitative traits, their genomic location, allelic effects and epistatic interactions. However, such QTL information has not been widely applied by cereal improvement programs and genetic researchers worldwide. In part this is due to the heterogeneous nature of QTL studies which leads QTL reliability variation from study to study. Using approaches to adjust the QTL confidence interval, this platform provides access to the most updated sorghum QTL information than any database available, spanning 23 years of research since 1995. The QTL database provides information on the predicted gene models underlying the QTL CI, across all sorghum genome assembly gene sets and maize and rice genome assemblies and also provides information on the diversity of the underlying genes and information on signatures of selection in sorghum. The resulting high-resolution, open-access research platform facilitates candidate gene identification across 3 cereal species, sorghum, maize and rice. Using a number of trait examples, we demonstrate the power and resolution of the resource to facilitate comparative genomics approaches to provide a bridge between genomics and applied breeding.

Genetic dissection of early-season cold tolerance in sorghum: genome-wide association studies for seedling emergence and survival under field and controlled environment conditions

A QTL on sorghum chromosome SBI-06 putatively improves field emergence under low-temperature conditions. Low temperatures decisively limit seedling emergence and vigor during early growth of sorghum and, thus, strongly impair geographical expansion. To broaden sorghum cultivation to temperate regions, the establishment of cold-tolerant genotypes is a prioritized breeding goal. The present study aims at the quantification of seedling emergence and survival under chilling temperatures and the detection of marker-trait associations controlling temperature-related seedling establishment. A diversity set consisting of 194 biomass sorghum lines was subjected to extensive phenotyping comprising field trials and controlled environment experiments. The final emergence percentage (FEP) under field conditions was significantly reduced under cold stress. Broad-sense heritability was h ² = 0.87 for FEP in the field and h ² = 0.93 for seedling survival rate (SR) under controlled conditions. Correlations between FEP in the field and under controlled conditions were low; higher correlations were observed between field FEP and SR in controlled environments. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted using 44,515 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and revealed eight regions with suggestive marker-trait associations for FEP and SR on chromosomes SBI-01, -02, -03, -06, -09, and -10 (p < 5.7 × 10^-5) and a significant association on SBI-06 for field FEP (p < 2.9 × 10^-6). Although not significant under controlled conditions, SR of genotypes carrying the minor allele on the field FEP quantitative trait loci (QTL) on SBI-06 was on average 13.1% higher, while FEP under controlled conditions was on average 9.7% higher with a linearly decreasing effect with increasing temperatures (R ² = 0.82). Promising candidate genes putatively conferring seedling cold tolerance were identified.

Mating Design and Genetic Structure of a Multi-Parent Advanced Generation Intercross (MAGIC) Population of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)

Multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) populations are powerful next-generation mapping resources. We describe here the mating design and structure of the first MAGIC population in sorghum, and test its utility for mapping. The population was developed by intercrossing 19 diverse founder lines through a series of paired crosses with a genetic male sterile (MS) source, followed by 10 generations of random mating. At the final stage of random mating, 1000 random fertile plants in the population were identified and subjected to six generations of selfing to produce 1000 immortal MAGIC inbred lines. The development of this sorghum MAGIC population took over 15 yr. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of a subset of 200 MAGIC lines identified 79,728 SNPs, spanning high gene-rich regions. Proportion of SNPs per chromosome ranged from 6 to 15%. Structure analyses produced no evidence of population stratification, portraying the desirability of this population for genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The 19 founders formed three clusters, each with considerable genetic diversity. Further analysis showed that 73% of founder alleles segregated in the MAGIC population. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns depicted the MAGIC population to be highly recombined, with LD decaying to r²≤ 0.2 at 40 kb and down to r²≤ 0.1 at 220 kb. GWAS detected two known plant height genes, DWARF1 (chromosome 9) and DWARF3 (chromosome 7), and a potentially new plant height quantitative trait locus (QTL) (QTL-6) on chromosome 6. The MAGIC population was found to be rich in allelic content with high fragmentation of its genome, making it fit for both gene mapping and effective marker-assisted breeding.

Genetic architecture of photosynthesis in Sorghum bicolor under non-stress and cold stress conditions

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a C4 species sensitive to the cold spring conditions that occur at northern latitudes, especially when coupled with excessive light, and that greatly affect the photosynthetic rate. The objective of this study was to discover genes/genomic regions that control the capacity to cope with excessive energy under low temperature conditions during the vegetative growth period. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for seven photosynthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence traits under three consecutive temperature treatments: control (28 °C/24 °C), cold (15 °C/15 °C), and recovery (28 °C/24 °C). Cold stress significantly reduced the rate of photosynthetic CO2 uptake of sorghum plants, and a total of 143 unique genomic regions were discovered associated with at least one trait in a particular treatment or with derived variables. Ten regions on chromosomes 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 that harbor multiple significant markers in linkage disequilibrium (LD) were consistently identified in gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence traits. Several candidate genes within those intervals have predicted functions related to carotenoids, phytohormones, thioredoxin, components of PSI, and antioxidants. These regions represent the most promising results for future validation and with potential application for the improvement of crop productivity under cold stress.

Breeding approaches and genomics technologies to increase crop yield under low-temperature stress

Improved knowledge about plant cold stress tolerance offered by modern omics technologies will greatly inform future crop improvement strategies that aim to breed cultivars yielding substantially high under low-temperature conditions. Alarmingly rising temperature extremities present a substantial impediment to the projected target of 70% more food production by 2050. Low-temperature (LT) stress severely constrains crop production worldwide, thereby demanding an urgent yet sustainable solution. Considerable research progress has been achieved on this front. Here, we review the crucial cellular and metabolic alterations in plants that follow LT stress along with the signal transduction and the regulatory network describing the plant cold tolerance. The significance of plant genetic resources to expand the genetic base of breeding programmes with regard to cold tolerance is highlighted. Also, the genetic architecture of cold tolerance trait as elucidated by conventional QTL mapping and genome-wide association mapping is described. Further, global expression profiling techniques including RNA-Seq along with diverse omics platforms are briefly discussed to better understand the underlying mechanism and prioritize the candidate gene (s) for downstream applications. These latest additions to breeders' toolbox hold immense potential to support plant breeding schemes that seek development of LT-tolerant cultivars. High-yielding cultivars endowed with greater cold tolerance are urgently required to sustain the crop yield under conditions severely challenged by low-temperature.

Sorghum Landrace Collections from Cooler Regions of the World Exhibit Magnificent Genetic Differentiation and Early Season Cold Tolerance

Cold temperature is an important abiotic stress affecting sorghum production in temperate regions. It reduces seed germination, seedling emergence and seedling vigor thus limiting the production of the crop both temporally and spatially. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess early season cold temperature stress response of sorghum germplasm from cooler environments and identify sources of tolerance for use in breeding programs, (2) to determine population structure and marker-trait association among these germplasms for eventual development of marker tools for improving cold tolerance. A total of 136 sorghum accessions from cooler regions of the world were phenotyped for seedling growth characteristics under cold temperature imposed through early planting. The accessions were genotyped using 67 simple sequence repeats markers spanning all ten linkage groups of sorghum, of which 50 highly polymorphic markers were used in the analysis. Genetic diversity and population structure analyses sorted the population into four subpopulations. Several accessions distributed in all subpopulations showed either better or comparable level of tolerance to the standard cold tolerance source, Shan qui red. Association analysis between the markers and seedling traits identified markers Xtxp34, Xtxp88, and Xtxp319 as associated with seedling emergence, Xtxp211 and Xtxp304 with seedling dry weight, and Xtxp20 with seedling height. The markers were detected on chromosomes previously found to harbor QTLs associated with cold tolerance in sorghum. Once validated these may serve as genomic tools in marker-assisted breeding or for screening larger pool of genotypes to identify additional sources of cold tolerance.

Transcriptome profiling and validation of gene based single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in sorghum genotypes with contrasting responses to cold stress

BACKGROUND

Sorghum is a versatile cereal crop, with excellent heat and drought tolerance. However, it is susceptible to early-season cold stress (12-15 °C) which limits stand-establishment and seedling growth. To gain further insights on the molecular mechanism of cold tolerance in sorghum we performed transcriptome profiling between known cold sensitive and tolerant sorghum lines using RNA sequencing technology under control and cold stress treatments.

RESULTS

Here we report on the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between contrasting sorghum genotypes, HongkeZi (cold tolerant) and BTx623 (cold sensitive) under cool and control temperatures using RNAseq approach to elucidate the molecular basis of sorghum response to cold stress. Furthermore, we validated bi-allelic variants in the form of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) between the cold susceptible and tolerant lines of sorghum. An analysis of transcriptome profile showed that in response to cold, a total of 1910 DEGs were detected under cold and control temperatures in both genotypes. We identified a subset of genes under cold stress for downstream analysis, including transcription factors that exhibit differential abundance between the sensitive and tolerant genotypes. We identified transcription factors including Dehydration-responsive element-binding factors, C-repeat binding factors, and Ethylene responsive transcription factors as significantly upregulated during cold stress in cold tolerant HKZ. Additionally, specific genes such as plant cytochromes, glutathione s-transferases, and heat shock proteins were found differentially regulated under cold stress between cold tolerant and susceptible genotype of sorghum. A total of 41,603 SNP were identified between the cold sensitive and tolerant genotypes with minimum read of four. Approximately 89 % of the 114 SNP sites selected for evaluation were validated using endpoint genotyping technology.

CONCLUSION

A new strategy which involved an integrated analysis of differential gene expression and identification of bi-allelic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was conducted to determine and analyze differentially expressed genes and variation involved in cold stress response of sorghum. The results gathered provide an insight into the complex mechanisms associated with cold response in sorghum, which involve an array of transcription factors and genes which were previously related to abiotic stress response. This study also offers resource for gene based SNP that can be applied towards targeted genomic studies of cold tolerance in sorghum and other cereal crops.

Association mapping of germinability and seedling vigor in sorghum under controlled low-temperature conditions

Sorghum is one of the world's most important food, feed, and fiber crops as well as a potential feedstock for lignocellulosic bioenergy. Early-season planting extends sorghum's growing season and increases yield in temperate regions. However, sorghum's sensitivity to low soil temperatures adversely impacts seed germination. In this study, we evaluated the 242 accessions of the ICRISAT sorghum mini core collection for seed germination and seedling vigor at 12 °C as a measure of cold tolerance. Genome-wide association analysis was performed with approximately 162,177 single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Only one marker locus (Locus 7-2) was significantly associated with low-temperature germination and none with vigor. The linkage of Locus 7-2 to low-temperature germination was supported by four lines of evidence: strong association in three independent experiments, co-localization with previously mapped cold tolerance quantitative trait loci (QTL) in sorghum, a candidate gene that increases cold tolerance and germination rate when its wheat homolog is overexpressed in tobacco, and its syntenic region in rice co-localized with two cold tolerance QTL in rice. This locus may be useful in developing tools for molecular breeding of sorghums with improved low-temperature germinability.

Genetic dissection of temperature-dependent sorghum growth during juvenile development

Promising genome regions for improving cold tolerance of sorghum were identified on chromosomes SBI-01, SBI-03, SBI-07, and SBI-10. Chlorophyll fluorescence had no major effect on growth rates at low temperatures. Developing fast growing sorghum seedlings is an important breeding goal for temperate climates since low springtime temperatures are resulting in a prolonged juvenile development. The adaptation of sorghum to tropical and subtropical highlands gives hint for certain genetic variation. The goals of the present study were to detect marker-trait associations for leaf and dry matter growth rate and for chlorophyll fluorescence and content (SPAD) in relation to temperature. A diversity set comprising 194 genotypes was tested in eight controlled environments with temperatures ranging from 9.4 to 20.8 °C. Significant marker-trait associations (p < 0.05) were identified for each individual temperature regime and on the parameters of regression analyses describing the responses of growth or chlorophyll related traits to temperatures. The diversity set was fingerprinted with 171 diversity array technology (DArT) and 31 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers. SSRs were used to analyze the population structure while association studies were performed on DArT markers. Promising marker-trait associations for growth rates in relation to temperature were detected on chromosomes SBI-01, SBI-03, SBI-07, and SBI-10. Many promising loci were also significantly associated to the results obtained in individual low-temperature environments. Marker-trait associations for chlorophyll content and fluorescence did occasionally co-locate to those for growth during juvenile development but there was no evidence supporting our hypothesis that seedling growth at low temperatures is largely influenced by SPAD or fluorescence.

Unravelling the genetic complexity of sorghum seedling development under low-temperature conditions

Sorghum is a promising alternative to maize for bioenergy production in Europe; however, its use is currently limited by poor adaptation to low temperatures during and after germination. We collected multi-trait phenotype data under optimal and suboptimal temperatures in a genetically diverse recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping population showing contrasting segregation patterns for pre- and post-emergence chilling tolerance. Germination, emergence, seedling development, root architecture and seedling survival were assessed in two different seedlots. Emergence and root establishment were found to be the key determinants of development and survival under chilling stress. Highly interactive epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTL) hotspots, including a previously unknown QTL on Sb06 with a significant effect on prolonged chilling survival, were found to regulate different physiological mechanisms contributing to maintenance of growth and development despite the chilling temperatures. The major QTL regions harbour promising candidate genes with known roles in abiotic stress tolerance. Identification of loci in the QTL hotspot regions conferring maintenance of cell division and growth under early chilling stress represents a promising step towards breeding for successful establishment of sorghum in temperate climates.

QTL pyramiding for improving of cold tolerance at fertilization stage in rice

Vigorous cold tolerance at the fertilization stage (CTF) is a very important characteristic for stable rice production in cold temperature conditions. Because CTF is a quantitatively inherited trait, pyramiding quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using marker-assisted selection (MAS) is effective for improving CTF levels in rice breeding programs. We previously identified three QTLs controlling CTF, qCTF7, qCTF8 and qCTF12, using backcrossed inbred lines derived from a cross between rice cultivar Eikei88223 (vigorous CTF) and Suisei (very weak CTF). However, pyramiding of these QTLs for the application of MAS in practical rice breeding programs have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effect of pyramiding QTLs for improvement of CTF level using eight possible genotype classes from the 152 F3 population derived from a cross between Eikei88223 and Suisei. Increasing of CTF levels in combinations between qCTF7 and qCTF12 and between qCTF8 and qCTF12 were detected. Furthermore, we compared the haplotype pattern around the QTLs for CTF among the rice cultivars from Hokkaido. These results are useful for improvement of new cultivars with high CTF levels using MAS and identification of genetic resources with the novel QTL(s) for CTF.

Genetic dissection of the temperature dependent emergence processes in sorghum using a cumulative emergence model and stability parameters

Among the major limitations for cultivating biomass sorghum in temperate regions is low temperature in spring that results in low and non-uniform emergence. The adaptation of sorghum to tropical and subtropical highlands gives hint of genetic variation in cold tolerance during emergence. The objective of the present study was to detect marker-trait associations for parameters describing the emergence process under different temperature regimes. A diversity set comprising 194 genotypes was tested in nine controlled environments with temperatures ranging from 9.4 to 19.9 °C. The genotypes were fingerprinted with 171 DArT markers. A piecewise linear regression model carried out on cumulative emergence was used to estimate genotype mean performance across environments and to carry out stability analysis on the parameters of the regression model. Base temperature (T (b)) and thermal time required for emergence (E (TS)) were determined based on median time to emergence data. Identified QTL positions were compared to marker-trait associations for final emergence percentages under low (FEP(cold)) and normal (FEP(normal)) temperatures. QTL for mean final emergence percentage (FEP), FEP(cold) and FEP(normal,) T (b) and E (TS) were detected on SBI-01. Other QTL-rich regions were located on SBI-03, SBI-04, SBI-06, SBI-08, and SBI-09. Marker-trait associations for T (b) and E (TS) co-localized to QTL for the across environment stability of FEP and the median time to emergence or emergence rate, respectively. We conclude that genome regions on six chromosomes highly influencing cold tolerance during emergence are promising for regional association studies and for the development of stable markers for marker-assisted selection.

Molecular tagging and validation of microsatellite markers linked to the low germination stimulant gene (lgs) for Striga resistance in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

Striga is a devastating parasitic weed in Africa and parts of Asia. Low Striga germination stimulant activity, a well-known resistance mechanism in sorghum, is controlled by a single recessive gene (lgs). Molecular markers linked to the lgs gene can accelerate development of Striga-resistant cultivars. Using a high density linkage map constructed with 367 markers (DArT and SSRs) and an in vitro assay for germination stimulant activity towards Striga asiatica in 354 recombinant inbred lines derived from SRN39 (low stimulant) × Shanqui Red (high stimulant), we precisely tagged and mapped the lgs gene on SBI-05 between two tightly linked microsatellite markers SB3344 and SB3352 at a distance of 0.5 and 1.5 cM, respectively. The fine-mapped lgs region was delimited to a 5.8 cM interval with the closest three markers SB3344, SB3346 and SB3343 positioned at 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 cM, respectively. We validated tightly linked markers in a set of 23 diverse sorghum accessions, most of which were known to be Striga resistant, by genotyping and phenotyping for germination stimulant activity towards both S. asiatica and S. hermonthica. The markers co-segregated with Striga germination stimulant activity in 21 of the 23 tested lines. The lgs locus similarly affected germination stimulant activity for both Striga species. The identified markers would be useful in marker-assisted selection for introgressing this trait into susceptible sorghum cultivars. Examination of the sorghum genome sequence and comparative analysis with the rice genome suggests some candidate genes in the fine-mapped region (400 kb) that may affect strigolactone biosynthesis or exudation. This work should form a foundation for map-based cloning of the lgs gene and aid in elucidation of an exact mechanism for resistance based on low Striga germination stimulant activity.

Integrating sorghum whole genome sequence information with a compendium of sorghum QTL studies reveals uneven distribution of QTL and of gene-rich regions with significant implications for crop improvement

A comprehensive analysis was conducted using 48 sorghum QTL studies published from 1995 to 2010 to make information from historical sorghum QTL experiments available in a form that could be more readily used by sorghum researchers and plant breeders. In total, 771 QTL relating to 161 unique traits from 44 studies were projected onto a sorghum consensus map. Confidence intervals (CI) of QTL were estimated so that valid comparisons could be made between studies. The method accounted for the number of lines used and the phenotypic variation explained by individual QTL from each study. In addition, estimated centimorgan (cM) locations were calculated for the predicted sorghum gene models identified in Phytozome (JGI GeneModels SBI v1.4) and compared with QTL distribution genome-wide, both on genetic linkage (cM) and physical (base-pair/bp) map scales. QTL and genes were distributed unevenly across the genome. Heterochromatic enrichment for QTL was observed, with approximately 22% of QTL either entirely or partially located in the heterochromatic regions. Heterochromatic gene enrichment was also observed based on their predicted cM locations on the sorghum consensus map, due to suppressed recombination in heterochromatic regions, in contrast to the euchromatic gene enrichment observed on the physical, sequence-based map. The finding of high gene density in recombination-poor regions, coupled with the association with increased QTL density, has implications for the development of more efficient breeding systems in sorghum to better exploit heterosis. The projected QTL information described, combined with the physical locations of sorghum sequence-based markers and predicted gene models, provides sorghum researchers with a useful resource for more detailed analysis of traits and development of efficient marker-assisted breeding strategies.

Identification and validation of genomic regions that affect shoot fly resistance in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

Shoot fly is one of the most important pests affecting the sorghum production. The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting shoot fly resistance enables to understand the underlying genetic mechanisms and genetic basis of complex interactions among the component traits. The aim of the present study was to detect QTL for shoot fly resistance and the associated traits using a population of 210 RILs of the cross 27B (susceptible) × IS2122 (resistant). RIL population was phenotyped in eight environments for shoot fly resistance (deadheart percentage), and in three environments for the component traits, such as glossiness, seedling vigor and trichome density. Linkage map was constructed with 149 marker loci comprising 127 genomic-microsatellite, 21 genic-microsatellite and one morphological marker. QTL analysis was performed by using MQM approach. 25 QTL (five each for leaf glossiness and seedling vigor, 10 for deadhearts, two for adaxial trichome density and three for abaxial trichome density) were detected in individual and across environments. The LOD and R (2) (%) values of QTL ranged from 2.44 to 24.1 and 4.3 to 44.1%, respectively. For most of the QTLs, the resistant parent, IS2122 contributed alleles for resistance; while at two QTL regions, the susceptible parent 27B also contributed for resistance traits. Three genomic regions affected multiple traits, suggesting the phenomenon of pleiotrophy or tight linkage. Stable QTL were identified for the traits across different environments, and genetic backgrounds by comparing the QTL in the study with previously reported QTL in sorghum. For majority of the QTLs, possible candidate genes were identified. The QTLs identified will enable marker assisted breeding for shoot fly resistance in sorghum.

Location of major effect genes in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)

Major effect genes are often used for germplasm identification, for diversity analyses and as selection targets in breeding. To date, only a few morphological characters have been mapped as major effect genes across a range of genetic linkage maps based on different types of molecular markers in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). This study aims to integrate all available previously mapped major effect genes onto a complete genome map, linked to the whole genome sequence, allowing sorghum breeders and researchers to link this information to QTL studies and to be aware of the consequences of selection for major genes. This provides new opportunities for breeders to take advantage of readily scorable morphological traits and to develop more effective breeding strategies. We also provide examples of the impact of selection for major effect genes on quantitative traits in sorghum. The concepts described in this paper have particular application to breeding programmes in developing countries where molecular markers are expensive or impossible to access.

Marker-assisted selection for early-season cold tolerance in sorghum: QTL validation across populations and environments

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] landraces from China generally exhibit excellent emergence and seedling vigor under cool conditions, and are being used as sources of genes for improvement of seedling cold tolerance in other cultivars. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) could expedite the introgression of genes from landraces into elite lines, however, only a few studies have empirically demonstrated efficacy of MAS for quantitatively inherited agronomic traits. In a preceding study we identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) for early-season performance in a recombinant inbred (RI) population, one parent of which was a cold-tolerant Chinese line, 'Shan Qui Red' (SQR). In this study, three SSR markers (Xtxp43, Xtxp51, and Xtxp211), each representing a QTL, were tested in two new populations: (Tx2794 x SQR F(3)) and (Wheatland x SQR BC(1)F(3)). Individual families were genotyped, and early-season field performance was measured for two years. Statistical analyses showed that the SQR allele of Xtxp43 had favorable effects on seedling vigor in both populations, and on emergence in the Tx2794 population. A large positive effect of the SQR allele of Xtxp51 was observed in the Tx2794 population for vigor and emergence. Slight genotype by environment interaction was observed for Xtxp51 in the Wheatland population. Marker Xtxp211 had small but significant effects on seedling vigor and emergence in both populations. Various interactions between loci were also significant. This study validated QTL markers in various genetic backgrounds, and demonstrated the utility of MAS for a quantitative trait, early-season cold tolerance, evaluated in the field.