Enhancing Sorghum’s Iron Deficiency Tolerance Through Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering of sorghum with Fe deficiency-tolerant genes enhances iron uptake, phytosiderophore secretion, and stress resilience, improving growth in alkaline soils.
Striga resistance in sorghum is achieved through molecular marker-assisted breeding targeting mutations at the LGS1 gene. These lgs1 mutants exude fewer Striga-stimulatory strigolactones, providing a sustainable solution for combating this parasitic weed.
This study reveals that increasing m6A RNA modifications through SbMTA overexpression enhances salt tolerance in sorghum by stabilizing stress-responsive transcripts, whereas reducing m6A levels with SbALKBH10B overexpression diminishes this resilience.
Birhanu et al. identified key genetic loci associated with anthracnose resistance in Ethiopian sorghum germplasms, highlighting its potential as a valuable resource for breeding resistant sorghum varieties.
Liu et al. evaluated the low-nitrogen tolerance of 100 sorghum genotypes, identifying key morphological, photosynthetic, and metabolic traits that enhance nitrogen efficiency and improve adaptation to nutrient-limited environments.
This study reveals that while brassinosteroid receptors BRI1 and BRL3 both impact drought response, BRL3 promotes drought tolerance in sorghum through osmotic protection, whereas BRI1 signaling is associated with drought susceptibility due to growth-related sensitivities.
Plants use non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) to protect themselves from light-induced damage by dissipating excess energy as heat, and genetic studies in crops like maize and sorghum have identified key genes regulating NPQ, offering potential for improving photosynthetic efficiency and yield.