CSI Seminar Naima Moustaid-Moussa, Yinping Jiao, Oak-Hee Park, May 12 at 11 AM CT

• 08 May 2026

The Center for Sorghum Improvement (CSI) will host a virtual seminar given by Naima Moustaid-Moussa, Executive Director of Institute for One Health Innovation, Horn Distinguished Professor of Nutrition & One Health at Texas Tech University (TTU) School of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of Cell Biology & Biochemistry at the TTHSC School of Medicine, Yinping Jiao, Assistant Professor, IGCAST, Plant and Soil Science at TTU and Oak-Hee Park, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences at TTU. Their  talk is titled “Sorghum, from production to human consumption: A climate-smart, food-based approach to address inflammatory metabolic diseases.”

Branching Out: Breakthroughs and Connections at ASPB NE 2026

• 01 May 2026

The Northeast Section of the American Society of Plant Biologists (NE ASPB) convened its annual meeting on April 25–26, 2026 at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). The meeting was organized by Leeann Thornton, PhD., former ASPB President and current Professor at TCNJ, alongside the Northeast Section Executive Board and Shoshana Kronfeld.

Bridging Genomics and Agriculture: Key Takeaways from AGBT-Ag 2026

• 21 April 2026

AGBT-Ag 2026 highlighted how advances in genomics, AI, and collaborative data frameworks are accelerating the translation of cutting-edge research into scalable, climate-resilient agricultural solutions.

A Global Sorghum Pangenome Reference Reveals Genetic Variation Underlying Adaptation and Crop Improvement

• 04 May 2026

A global sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) pangenome constructed from diverse reference genomes and nearly 2,000 resequenced lines reveals extensive structural and gene-content variation underlying domestication, environmental adaptation, and key agronomic traits, providing a powerful genomic framework to accelerate trait discovery and breeding of locally adapted cultivars.

Time-Dependent Physiological and Transcriptomic Adaptations of Sorghum to Drought Stress

• 27 April 2026

Sorghum responds to drought through a coordinated, time-dependent shift from early physiological stress and metabolic suppression to later activation of antioxidant defenses, hormone signaling, and carbohydrate remobilization pathways that enhance survival under prolonged water deficit.

Role of Conserved Histidines in Zinc Selectivity and Structural Integrity of Sorghum Metallothionein SbMT4

• 20 April 2026

SbMT4 functions as a zinc-specific metallothionein whose conserved histidine residues are essential for selective Zn binding, proper protein folding, and limiting cadmium incorporation, although altering these residues does not significantly change whole-plant metal accumulation, when expressed ectopically.

High-Throughput, Nondestructive Grain Quality Analysis in Sorghum

• 09 January 2026

Understanding sorghum grain quality is essential for breeding, food innovation, and industrial applications. Traits such as protein, starch composition, oil content, tannins, and phenolic compounds directly influence nutritional value, processing behavior, and end use. However, traditional laboratory assays are slow,

Sorghum in Fermentation: New Insights into Genetics, Grain Traits, and Microbial Interactions from Baijiu to African Traditional Beers

• 05 August 2025

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has long played a central role in the production of fermented beverages across continents, from West African dolo and pito to Chinese baijiu and emerging gluten-free craft beers in the West. A wave of recent research is shedding light on how sorghum’s grain properties, microbial interactions during fermentation, and genetic diversity influence the quality and sustainability of these beverages.

Unlocking Sorghum’s Potential in Skin Care and Antioxidant Applications: A New Frontier for Kafirin Peptides

• 15 July 2025

In recent years, sorghum has gained increasing attention not just as a climate-resilient staple crop, but also as a source of high-value bioactive compounds with applications beyond the food and feed sectors. A growing body of research highlights the potential of sorghum storage proteins—particularly kafirins—as a sustainable source of antioxidant peptides and cosmeceutical ingredients.