Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Potential New Targets for Improving Nitrogen Uptake and Utilization inSorghum bicolor.
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 utilization 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 ammonium transporter (AMT) genes generally had low allelic diversity, whereas a substantial number of nitrate/peptide transporter 1 (NRT1/PTR) genes had higher nucleotide diversity in domesticated germplasm. Interestingly, members of the distinct raceGuinea margaritiferumcontained a number of unique alleles, and along with the wild sorghum species, represent a rich resource of new variation for plant improvement of NUE in sorghum.
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Karen
K
Massel
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Bradley C
BC
Campbell
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Warwick, QLD, Australia.
Emma S
ES
Mace
BGI-Shenzhen Shenzhen, China.
Shuaishuai
S
Tai
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland Warwick, QLD, Australia.
Yongfu
Y
Tao
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Belinda G
BG
Worland
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland Warwick, QLD, Australia.
David R
DR
Jordan
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Jose R
JR
Botella
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Ian D
ID
Godwin
domestication; nitrogen uptake and utilization; nitrogen use efficiency (NUE); selection; sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)