The road to sorghum domestication

Concetta Burgarella, Antoine Berger, Nancy Terrier, A. Donkpegan, Vincent Ranwez, Nathalie Chantret, S. Glémin, Monique Deu, David Pot. (19/8/2018). The road to sorghum domestication.

Abstract

Sorghum bicolor is the fifth cereal worldwide for grain production and the staple food for 500 million people. It is a C4 species (as maize and sugarcane) native of North Eastern Africa. Due to its adaptation to heat and drought stress, its importance is expected to increase in the current context of global warming [1]. The cultivated pool is characterized by a clear domestication syndrome (plant architecture, shattering, dormancy and seed weight; Fig. 1) and a great phenotypic and genetic diversity [2]. In spite of its agronomic importance, the evolutionary dynamics of sorghum domestication and the genetic bases of adaptation to the different environmental contexts are not well understood