These slides are a redacted (by the presenter) version of what was presented at the meeting

1. Project title: Discovery and development of alleles contributing to sorghum drought
tolerance.
Main thematic targeted area: Subprogramme 2: Comparative genomics for gene
discovery
Partners, and corresponding institutions:
Andrew H. Paterson (PI), Distinguished Research Professor, Univ. Georgia
(paterson@uga.edu)
I.D.K. Atokple, Sorghum Breeder, SARI, Tamale, Ghana (idkatokple@yahoo.com)
C. Thomas Hash, Principal Scientist (Breeding), ICRISAT, Patancheru, Hyderabad
502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India (c.hash@cgiar.org)
S.P. Mehtre, Associate Professor, Dept of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Marathwada
Agricultural University, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India
(shivaji_pmehtre@rediffmail.com)
Abdalla Mohamed, Sorghum Breeder. ARC, Wad Medani, Sudan
(abdalla_moh2002@yahoo.com)
Nadoor Seetharama, Director, National Research Center for Sorghum, Rajendranagar,
Hyderabad 500 030, Andhra Pradesh, India (seetharama@nrcsorghum.res.in)

2. Sorghum is the most drought-tolerant dual-purpose (grain + straw)
cereal crop of the semi-arid tropics and subtropics, where development
challenges are the greatest and market failure is most acute.
Two major project elements:
1. Enhance terminal drought tolerance in improved sorghum
germplasm by evaluating combinations of staygreen genes.
2. Test relationships between drought tolerance and specific genes, gene
families and functional SNPs.

3. Fig 1. Difference in
green leaf area
maintenance after
flowering in two stay-
green QTL
introgression lines K
260 and K293 (Stg3
and Stg4,
respectively, from
donor B35 in
background of highly
senescent but elite
post-rainy season
variety R 16)

4. Field studies
Many, to isolate QTL, produce crosses, etc … most recently completed is ..
Ninety-one (91) double-QTL introgression homozygotes, their single-QTL
introgression parents, donor and recurrent parents, and a local check,
Kapaala were evaluated under irrigated dry season and rain-fed conditions
for their agronomic performance (Ghana).

6. CSP
Sorghum
Resequencing
Resequencing –
30 genomes, 41 transcriptomes

7. Products, Partners, Capacity Building
Stg lines – one and two-QTL combinations
E36-1 x N13 RIL population
8 transcriptomes, associated SNPs, and inferred
functional importance(s)
-built on BTx623 genome sequence (2009, Nature), now
being used to improve primary annotation along with …
-33 more transcriptomes and 30 genomes from US DOE,
including priority genotypes of many other GCP scientists
and projects
Many trainees at numerous levels