Comparative evolution of vegetative branching in sorghum

PLoS One. 2021 Aug 13;16(8):e0255922. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255922. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Tillering and secondary branching are two plastic traits with high agronomic importance, especially in terms of the ability of plants to adapt to changing environments. We describe a quantitative trait analysis of tillering and secondary branching in two novel BC1F2 populations totaling 246 genotypes derived from backcrossing two Sorghum bicolor x S. halepense F1 plants to a tetraploidized S. bicolor. A two-year, two-environment phenotypic evaluation in Bogart, GA and Salina, KS permitted us to identify major effect and environment specific QTLs. Significant correlation between tillering and secondary branching followed by discovery of overlapping sets of QTLs continue to support the developmental relationship between these two organs and suggest the possibility of pleiotropy. Comparisons with two other populations sharing S. bicolor BTx623 as a common parent but sampling the breadth of the Sorghum genus, increase confidence in QTL detected for these two plastic traits and provide insight into the evolution of morphological diversity in the Eusorghum clade. Correspondence between flowering time and vegetative branching supports other evidence in suggesting a pleiotropic effect of flowering genes. We propose a model to predict biomass weight from plant architecture related traits, quantifying contribution of each trait to biomass and providing guidance for future breeding experiments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Breeding*
  • Quantitative Trait Loci
  • Sorghum*

Grants and funding

AFRI Plant Growth and Development Program (2016-67013-24608 to AHP), USDA Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program (2012-01658 to AHP and TSC), and NIFA Global Food Security CAP (2015-68004-23492 to AHP).