Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Potential New Targets for Improving Nitrogen Uptake and Utilization in Sorghum bicolor
2016
Massel, Karen | Campbell, Bradley | Mace, Emma S. | Tai, Shuaishuai | Tao, Yongfu | Worland, Belinda | Jordan, David | Botella, Jimmy | Godwin, Ian
Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are a major agricultural input where more than 100 million tons are supplied annually. Cereals are particularly inefficient at soil N uptake, where the unrecovered nitrogen causes serious environmental damage. Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) is an important cereal crop, particularly in resource-poor semi-arid regions, and is known to have a high NUE in comparison to other major cereals under limited N conditions. This study provides the first assessment of genetic diversity and signatures of selection across 230 fully sequenced genes putatively involved in the uptake and mobilization of N from a diverse panel of sorghum lines. This comprehensive analysis reveals an overall reduction in diversity as a result of domestication and a total of 128 genes displaying signatures of purifying selection, thereby revealing possible gene targets to improve NUE in sorghum and cereals alike. A number of key genes appear to have been involved in selective sweeps, reducing their sequence diversity. The ammo
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