Saturday, June 25, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Study sheds light on Inhibition Of Awn Elongation In Sorghum

by Medical Finance
in News
Horizontal gene transfer between viruses and hosts plays a major role in driving evolution
9
SHARES
99
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Over the years, the domestication of grasses like wheat, rice, barley, and sorghum for consumption has resulted in certain modifications to their morphology. One such modification is the partial or complete elimination of the ‘awns’, which are the bristle- or needle-like appendages extending from the tip of the lemma in grass spikelets.

The awn protects the grains from animals, promotes seed dispersal, and helps in photosynthesis in grasses like barley and wheat. However, its presence also hinders manual harvesting and reduces its value as livestock feed, explaining its elimination during domestication.

In the past, genetic studies have revealed the mechanism underlying awn development in crops such as rice and wheat. These indicate the possibility of the existence of complex and distinct genetic networks controlling awn formation in a species-specific manner.

In fact, the existence of an awn-inhibiting gene in sorghum was identified in 1921, but remained uncharacterized thereafter. Now, a group of researchers-;led by Prof. Wataru Sakamoto of Okayama University and including Prof. Hideki Takanashi of the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Science, Tokyo University-;has finally shed light on this subject. Their research was published in Plant & Cell Physiology on 30 May 2022.

Justifying the rationale behind studying awn inhibition in sorghum.

Sorghum is an important C4 crop for high biomass and bioenergy. It has a high tolerance to drought, besides being the fifth largest cultivated cereal crop. Also, it is a morphologically diverse crop with a relatively small genome size, making it suitable for genetic studies in various agronomical traits.”


Wataru Sakamoto, Professor, Okayama University

For the purpose of this study, a recombinant inbred population derived from a cross between “awnless” (BTx623) and “awned” (Takakibi NOG) sorghum varieties was created. “The prospect of gene hunting in sorghum using the population we generated for the last ten years was motivating”, comments Prof. Sakamoto. Using next-generation sequencing, the researchers established a high-density genetic map of this recombinant cultivar.

Next, they performed quantitative trait loci analysis of the sorghum germplasm to identify the gene controlling awn development. They also conducted genome-wide association studies to identify the origins of the awn-inhibiting gene. Lastly, they introduced the awn-inhibiting gene in an awned rice cultivar to check its functionality in other grass species.

The researchers observed that approximately half of the recombinant cultivar population studied did not develop awns, just like their awnless parent. Moreover, they found a single locus on the cultivar chromosome to be responsible for regulating the absence as well as shortening of awns in the cultivars studied. They identified the gene corresponding to this locus as DOMINANT AWN INHIBITOR, or DAI.

The researchers found that DAI encodes a protein in the ALOG family, which negatively regulates awn formation as a transcription factor. Interestingly, when DAI was introduced into the awned rice cultivar, it suppressed awn formation. In the words of Prof. Sakamoto, “It was surprising that DAI also inhibits awn elongation in rice grains, because no such genes have been reported in rice. Thus, eliminating awns in cereal grains have occurred differently among cereal crops, but the mechanism can be shared between them.”

In short, this study has established the importance of DAI for the development of modern awnless cultivars. Also, it points to the existence of a common mechanism of awn inhibition, despite the existence of species-specific inhibitors. Going ahead, further analysis is needed to understand the transcriptional regulation of DAI besides clarifying the association of DAI with sorghum domestication. As Prof. Sakamoto points out, “In the long term, the understanding of genetic traits affecting cereals can help us in making new varieties.”

Source:

Journal reference:

Takanashi, H., et al. (2022) DOMINANT AWN INHIBITOR Encodes the ALOG Protein Originating from Gene Duplication and Inhibits AWN Elongation by Suppressing Cell Proliferation and Elongation in Sorghum. Plant and Cell Physiology. doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcac057

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Medical Finance

Medical Finance

Related Posts

Study hints a potential difference in molecular clockworks between the master and slave clock neurons

Texas A&M AgriLife scientists receive grant to fight pesticide-resistant cattle fever ticks

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

Two projects by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists aim to protect the U.S. cattle industry from the emerging threat of...

PhoreMost and POLARISqb announce a multi-target collaboration to investigate next-generation cancer therapies

Researchers discover new way to inhibit key mutated gene underlying tumor growth

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

CU Boulder researchers have discovered a new way to inhibit the most commonly mutated gene underlying human tumor growth, opening...

Study: Development of monoclonal antibodies to detect for SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Image Credit: ustas7777777 / Shutterstock.com

Development of 18 monoclonal antibodies against 9 SARS-CoV-2 proteins

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been caused by the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus...

Study: Notch1-CD22-Dependent Immune Dysregulation in the SARS-CoV2-Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. Image Credit: NIAID

Treg cell Notch receptors drive SARS-CoV-2-induced MIS-C

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

In a recent study under consideration at Nature Portfolio Journal and posted to the Research Square* preprint server, researchers demonstrated...

Study: Accuracy of US CDC COVID-19 Forecasting Models. Image Credit: CROCOTHERY/Shutterstock

Accuracy and robustness of US CDC COVID-19 forecasting models

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers examined the accuracy of the US Centers for Disease...

New evidence supports the link between growth-induced respiratory stress and fish reproduction

Researchers construct first single-cell atlas of postnatal lung development in humans and mice

by Medical Finance
June 25, 2022
0

How do the lungs develop after taking their first breaths outside the womb? What cellular events and changes early in...

Next Post
Gut-on-a-Chip to Model Coeliac Disease

Gut-on-a-Chip to Model Coeliac Disease

Study: Test to release from isolation after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. Image Credit: Timothy Kuiper/Shutterstock

Model suggests feasibility of shorter COVID-19 isolation period with minimal risk

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Support

  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms And Conditions

Categories

  • Coronavirus
  • Insights From Industry
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers

More News

  • 174318220 620x480
    Newly discovered immune cell “soldier” could be a good target for immunotherapy
  • Pandemic 620x480
    NIAID’s new pandemic preparedness efforts aim to characterize prototype and priority pathogens
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms And Conditions

© 2022 Medical Finance - Latest Financial and Business News

No Result
View All Result
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Insights From Industry
  • Coronavirus
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers
wpDiscuz
0
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply