Transcriptomic analysis of developing sorghum grains to detect genes related to cell wall biosynthesis and remodelling.

OBJECTIVE: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the fifth most important grain produced in the world. Interest for cultivating sorghum is increasing all over the world in the context of climate change, due to its low input and water requirements. Like other cultivated cereals, sorghum has significant nutritional value thanks to its protein, carbohydrate and dietary fiber content, these latter mainly consisting of cell wall polysaccharides. This work describes for the first time a transcriptomic analysis dedicated to identify the genes involved in the biosynthesis and remodelling of cell walls both in the endosperm and outer layers of sorghum grain during its development. Further analysis of these transcriptomic data will improve our understanding of cell wall assembly, which is a key component of grain quality. DATA DESCRIPTION: This research delineates the steps of our analysis, starting with the cultivation conditions and the grain harvest at different stages of development, followed by the laser microdissection applied to separate the endosperm from the outer layers. It also describes the procedures implemented to generate RNA libraries and to obtain a normalized and filtered table of transcript counts, and finally determine the number of putative cell wall-related genes already listed in literature.

Past and present dynamics of sorghum and pearl millet diversity in Mount Kenya region.

Crop populations in smallholder farming systems are shaped by the interaction of biological, ecological, and social processes, occurring on different spatiotemporal scales. Understanding these dynamics is fundamental for the conservation of crop genetic resources. In this study, we investigated the processes involved in sorghum and pearl millet diversity dynamics on Mount Kenya. Surveys were conducted in ten sites distributed along two elevation transects and occupied by six ethnolinguistic groups. Varieties of both species grown in each site were inventoried and characterized using SSR markers. Genetic diversity was analyzed using both individual- and population-based approaches. Surveys of seed lot sources allowed characterizing seed-mediated gene flow. Past sorghum diffusion dynamics were explored by comparing Mount Kenya sorghum diversity with that of the African continent. The absence of structure in pearl millet genetic diversity indicated common ancestry and/or important pollen- and seed-mediated gene flow. On the contrary, sorghum varietal and genetic diversity showed geographic patterns, pointing to different ancestry of varieties, limited pollen-mediated gene flow, and geographic patterns in seed-mediated gene flow. Social and ecological processes involved in shaping seed-mediated gene flow are further discussed.

Influence of ethnolinguistic diversity on the sorghum genetic patterns in subsistence farming systems in eastern Kenya.

Understanding the effects of actions undertaken by human societies on crop evolution processes is a major challenge for the conservation of genetic resources. This study investigated the mechanisms whereby social boundaries associated with patterns of ethnolinguistic diversity have influenced the on-farm distribution of sorghum diversity. Social boundaries limit the diffusion of planting material, practices and knowledge, thus shaping crop diversity in situ. To assess the effect of social boundaries, this study was conducted in the contact zone between the Chuka, Mbeere and Tharaka ethnolinguistic groups in eastern Kenya. Sorghum varieties were inventoried and samples collected in 130 households. In all, 297 individual plants derived from seeds collected under sixteen variety names were characterized using a set of 18 SSR molecular markers and 15 morphological descriptors. The genetic structure was investigated using both a Bayesian assignment method and distance-based clustering. Principal Coordinates Analysis was used to describe the structure of the morphological diversity of the panicles. The distribution of the varieties and the main genetic clusters across ethnolinguistic groups was described using a non-parametric MANOVA and pairwise Fisher tests. The spatial distribution of landrace names and the overall genetic spatial patterns were significantly correlated with ethnolinguistic partition. However, the genetic structure inferred from molecular makers did not discriminate the short-cycle landraces despite their morphological distinctness. The cases of two improved varieties highlighted possible fates of improved materials. The most recent one was often given the name of local landraces. The second one, that was introduced a dozen years ago, displays traces of admixture with local landraces with differential intensity among ethnic groups. The patterns of congruence or discordance between the nomenclature of farmers' varieties and the structure of both genetic and morphological diversity highlight the effects of the social organization of communities on the diffusion of seed, practices, and variety nomenclature.

Isolation and characterization of twelve polymorphic microsatellite Loci for the cocoa mirid bug Sahlbergella singularis.

Mirids are the primary pests affecting cocoa production in Africa, but no genetic studies have been conducted on these insects. Here we report the isolation and characterization of 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci for Sahlbergella singularis. A microsatellite-enriched genomic DNA library was developed and screened to identify marker loci. Twelve polymorphic loci were identified by screening 28 individuals collected from one presumed population in cocoa plantations in Southern Cameroon. The number of alleles ranged from 5 to 25, whereas the observed and the expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.179 to 0.786 and from 0.671 to 0.946, respectively. Tests showed significant deviations from HW equilibrium for four loci, but no linkage disequilibrium was detected at any of the loci. No cross-species amplification was observed in two other mirid pests in Africa.

Genetic diversity, structure, gene flow and evolutionary relationships within the Sorghum bicolor wild-weedy-crop complex in a western African region.

Gene flow between domesticated plants and their wild relatives is one of the major evolutionary processes acting to shape their structure of genetic diversity. Earlier literature, in the 1970s, reported on the interfertility and the sympatry of wild, weedy and cultivated sorghum belonging to the species Sorghum bicolor in most regions of sub-Saharan Africa. However, only a few recent surveys have addressed the geographical and ecological distribution of sorghum wild relatives and their genetic structure. These features are poorly documented, especially in western Africa, a centre of diversity for this crop. We report here on an exhaustive in situ collection of wild, weedy and cultivated sorghum assembled in Mali and in Guinea. The extent and pattern of genetic diversity were assessed with 15 SSRs within the cultivated pool (455 accessions), the wild pool (91 wild and weedy forms) and between them. F (ST) and R (ST) statistics, distance-based trees, Bayesian clustering methods, as well as isolation by distance models, were used to infer evolutionary relationships within the wild-weedy-crop complex. Firstly, our analyses highlighted a strong racial structure of genetic diversity within cultivated sorghum (F (ST) = 0.40). Secondly, clustering analyses highlighted the introgressed nature of most of the wild and weedy sorghum and grouped them into two eco-geographical groups. Such closeness between wild and crop sorghum could be the result of both sorghum's domestication history and preferential post-domestication crop-to-wild gene flow enhanced by farmers' practices. Finally, isolation by distance analyses showed strong spatial genetic structure within each pool, due to spatially limited dispersal, and suggested consequent gene flow between the wild and the crop pools, also supported by R (ST) analyses. Our findings thus revealed important features for the collection, conservation and biosafety of domesticated and wild sorghum in their centre of diversity.

Evidence for the dispersal of a unique lineage from Asia to America and Africa in the sugarcane fungal pathogen Ustilago scitaminea.

The basidiomycete Ustilago scitaminea Sydow, which causes sugarcane smut disease, has been spreading throughout Africa and America since the 1940s. The genetic diversity and structure of different populations of this fungus worldwide was investigated using microsatellites. A total of 142 single-teliospore were isolated from 77 distinct whips (sori) collected in 15 countries worldwide. Mycelium culture derived from on generation of selfing of these single teliospores were analysed for their polymorphisms at 17 microsatellite loci. All these strains but one were homozygous at all loci, indicating that selfing is likely the predominant reproductive mode of U. scitaminea. The genetic diversity of either American or African U. scitaminea populations was found to be extremely low and all strains belong to a single lineage. This lineage was also found in some populations of Asia, where most U. scitaminea genetic diversity was detected, suggesting that this fungal species originated from this region. The strong founder effect observed in U. scitaminea African and American populations suggests that the fungus migrated from Asia to other continents on rare occasions through movement of infected plant material.