Genome‐wide association analysis for response of Senegalese sorghum accessions to Texas isolates of anthracnose

The Plant Genome · 2021 · 22 citations

• Biology
• Genetics
• Botany

Anthracnose disease of sorghum is caused by Colletotrichum sublineola, a filamentous fungus. The genetic basis of resistance to anthracnose in sorghum is largely unclear, especially in Senegalese sorghum germplasm. In this study, 163 Senegalese sorghum accessions were evaluated for response to C. sublineola, and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genetic variation associated with response to C. sublineola using 193,727 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the genome. Germplasm diversity analysis showed low genetic diversity and slow linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay among the Senegalese accessions. Phenotypic analysis resulted in relatively low differences to C. sublineola among the tested population. Genome-wide association study did not identify any significant association based on a strict threshold for the number of SNPs available. However, individual analysis of the top eight SNPs associated with relative susceptibility and resistance identified candidate genes that have been shown to play important roles in plant stress tolerance in previous studies. This study identifies sorghum genes whose annotated properties have known roles in host defense and thus identify them as candidates for use in breeding for resistance to anthracnose.

Genome-wide association study of grain mold resistance in sorghum association panel as affected by inoculation with Alternaria alternata alone and Alternaria alternata, Fusarium thapsinum, and Curvularia lunata combined

European Journal of Plant Pathology · 2020 · 19 citations

• Biology
• Horticulture
• Botany

Late Growth Stages of Johnsongrass Can Act as an Alternate Host of <i>Colletotrichum sublineola</i>

Plant Health Progress · 2020 · 10 citations

• Biology
• Botany
• Agronomy

Twenty-six johnsongrass cultivars, collected from seven U.S. states, were spray inoculated with spores of an isolate of Colletotrichum sublineola derived from sorghum. Inoculations were made when plants reached growth stages of 2 (four to five leaves), 3 (seven to eight leaves), and 6 (post panicle emergence). At the earlier stages the johnsongrass cultivars showed hypersensitive responses and small lesions; however, acervulus formation was not observed. When late growth stage johnsongrass plants were spray inoculated, acervulus formation was confirmed in 19 cultivars as early as 5 days postinoculation. Results obtained confirm that johnsongrass can act as an alternate host of C. sublineola under favorable conditions, and growth stages of johnsongrass may be an important factor for cross infection of C. sublineola between johnsongrass and sorghum.