Nitrogen availability and allocation in sorghum and its wild relatives: Divergent roles for cyanogenic glucosides

Myrans, Harry; Vandegeer, Rebecca K.; Henry, Robert J.; Gleadow, Roslyn M.

doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153393

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Compared with other major cereal crops, the knowledge of plant growth and developmental diversity in the wild relatives of sorghum is scarce (Cowan et al., 2021; Dillon et al., 2007b; Kuhlman et al., 2010; Lazarides et al., 1991). Of special interest is the need to understand possible retained beneficial traits in the wild sorghum relatives offering improved resilience to environmental stresses (Cowan et al., 2020; Myrans et al., 2021). Drought stress is a key factor limiting crop yield at the global scale and its effect on yield loss is expected to be aggravated by climate change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic relationships in the Sorghum genus based on sequencing of the chloroplast and nuclear genes

et al. 2021

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Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important food crop with a diverse gene pool residing in its wild relatives. A total of 15 sorghum accessions from the unexploited wild gene pool of the Sorghum genus, representing the five subgenera, were sequenced, and the complete chloroplast genomes and 99 common single-copy concatenated nuclear genes were assembled. Annotation of the chloroplast genomes identified a total of 81 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA, and four rRNA genes. The gene content and gene order among the species was identical. A total of 153 nonsynonymous amino acid changes in 40 genes were identified across the species. Phylogenetic analysis of both the whole chloroplast genome and nuclear genes revealed a similar topology with two distinct clades within the genus. The species within the subgenera Eusorghum, Chaetosorghum, and Heterosorghum clustered in one clade, whereas the species within the subgenera Parasorghum and Stiposorghum clustered in a second clade. However, the subgenera Parasorghum and Stiposorghum were not monophyletic, suggesting the need for further research to resolve the relationships within this group. The close relationship between the two monotypic subgenera Chaetosorghum and Heterosorghum suggests that species within these subgenera could be considered as one group. This analysis provides an improved understanding of the genetic relationships within the Sorghum genus and defines diversity in wild sorghum species that may be useful for crop improvement. INTRODUCTIONSorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a versatile food crop globally and a staple food in many African and Asian

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic relationships in the Sorghum genus based on sequencing of the chloroplast and nuclear genes

et al. 2021

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“…All species of Eusorghum are thought to produce dhurrin at similar concentrations [ 37 , 38 ]. The cyanogenic status of a subset of crop wild relative (CWR) of sorghum has been studied [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]; however, there are no published studies on the degree and extent of cyanogenesis across all undomesticated species in the genus Sorghum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyanogenesis in the Sorghum Genus: From Genotype to Phenotype

Cowan

Møller

Norton

et al. 2022

Genes

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Domestication has resulted in a loss of genetic diversity in our major food crops, leading to susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses linked with climate change. Crop wild relatives (CWR) may provide a source of novel genes potentially important for re-gaining climate resilience. Sorghum bicolor is an important cereal crop with wild relatives that are endemic to Australia. Sorghum bicolor is cyanogenic, but the cyanogenic status of wild Sorghum species is not well known. In this study, leaves of wild species endemic in Australia are screened for the presence of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin. The direct measurement of dhurrin content and the potential for dhurrin-derived HCN release (HCNp) showed that all the tested Australian wild species were essentially phenotypically acyanogenic. The unexpected low dhurrin content may reflect the variable and generally nutrient-poor environments in which they are growing in nature. Genome sequencing of six CWR and PCR amplification of the CYP79A1 gene from additional species showed that a high conservation of key amino acids is required for correct protein function and dhurrin synthesis, pointing to the transcriptional regulation of the cyanogenic phenotype in wild sorghum as previously shown in elite sorghum.

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“…Phenylpropanoids are a large class of natural products. They are known to provide protection against biotic and abiotic challenges (Myrans et al 2021 ; Varela et al 2016 ; Hura et al 2008 ). Drought-stress increases the content of phenylpropanoids in Populus euphratica (Guignard et al 2005 ), Populus nigra (Hale et al 2005 ), and Amaranthus tricolor (Sarker and Oba 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nitrate concentration was determined colorimetrically (O’Donnell et al 2013 ). Phenylpropanoids were measured using 10–20 mg dried tissue following Myrans et al ( 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcript profiles of wild and domesticated sorghum under water-stressed conditions and the differential impact on dhurrin metabolism

Ananda

Norton

Blomstedt

et al. 2022

Planta

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Main conclusion Australian native species of sorghum contain negligible amounts of dhurrin in their leaves and the cyanogenesis process is regulated differently under water-stress in comparison to domesticated sorghum species. Abstract Cyanogenesis in forage sorghum is a major concern in agriculture as the leaves of domesticated sorghum are potentially toxic to livestock, especially at times of drought which induces increased production of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin. The wild sorghum species endemic to Australia have a negligible content of dhurrin in the above ground tissues and thus represent a potential resource for key agricultural traits like low toxicity. In this study we investigated the differential expression of cyanogenesis related genes in the leaf tissue of the domesticated species Sorghum bicolor and the Australian native wild species Sorghum macrospermum grown in glasshouse-controlled water-stress conditions using RNA-Seq analysis to analyse gene expression. The study identified genes, including those in the cyanogenesis pathway, that were differentially regulated in response to water-stress in domesticated and wild sorghum. In the domesticated sorghum, dhurrin content was significantly higher compared to that in the wild sorghum and increased with stress and decreased with age whereas in wild sorghum the dhurrin content remained negligible. The key genes in dhurrin biosynthesis, CYP79A1, CYP71E1 and UGT85B1, were shown to be highly expressed in S. bicolor. DHR and HNL encoding the dhurrinase and α-hydroxynitrilase catalysing bio-activation of dhurrin were also highly expressed in S. bicolor. Analysis of the differences in expression of cyanogenesis related genes between domesticated and wild sorghum species may allow the use of these genetic resources to produce more acyanogenic varieties in the future.

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Nitrogen availability and allocation in sorghum and its wild relatives: Divergent roles for cyanogenic glucosides

Cited by 9 publications

References 59 publications

Phylogenetic relationships in the Sorghum genus based on sequencing of the chloroplast and nuclear genes

Phylogenetic relationships in the Sorghum genus based on sequencing of the chloroplast and nuclear genes

Cyanogenesis in the Sorghum Genus: From Genotype to Phenotype

Transcript profiles of wild and domesticated sorghum under water-stressed conditions and the differential impact on dhurrin metabolism

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