A global view of genetic diversity in cultivated sorghums using a core collection

Abstract

We report here an analysis of the structure of genetic diversity in cultivated sorghums. A core collection of 210 landraces representative of race, latitude of origin, response to day length, and production system was analysed with 74 RFLP probes dispersed throughout the genome. Multivariate analyses showed the specificity of the subrace guinea margaritiferum, as well as the geographical and racial pattern of genetic diversity. Neighbour-joining analysis revealed a clear differentiation between northern and southern equatorial African accessions. The presence of Asian accessions in these 2 major geographical poles for sorghum evolution indicated two introductions of sorghum into Asia. Morphological race also influenced the pattern of sorghum genetic diversity. A single predominant race was identified in 8 of 10 clusters of accessions, i.e., 1 kafir, 1 durra, 4 guinea, and 2 caudatum clusters. Guinea sorghums, with the exception of accessions in the margaritiferum subrace, clustered in 3 geographical groups, i.e., western African, southern African, and Asian guinea clusters; the latter two appeared more closely related. Caudatum were mainly distributed in 2 clusters, the African Great Lakes caudatum cluster and those African caudatum originating from other African regions. This last differentiation appears related to contrasting photoperiod responses. These results aid in the optimization of sampling accessions for introgression in breeding programs.

Genetic diversity of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench landraces from Northwestern Benin as revealed by microsatellite markers

“…In the present work, the first factor of the structuration of sorghum genetic diversity identified was the racial parameter. The results are consistence with those of Deu et al (2008), Kondombo et al (2010) and Sagnard et al (2011) respectively in Niger, Burkina-Faso and Mali on samples from world banks of genes (Deu et al, 2006).…”

Ethnolinguistic structuring of sorghum genetic diversity in Africa and the role of local seed systems

“…The association between the race kafir and the Bantu agricultural tradition is a well-established theory (2,10,14,29,44). In this study, we found that 90% of the sorghums in the Southern population were from the Niger-Congo language family areas where Bantu languages are spoken, and 46% of them were classified as kafir.…”

“…The race "bicolor" has small elongated grains, and, because of the "primitive" morphology, it is considered the progenitor of more derived races (16,17). The race "guinea" has open panicles well adapted to high rainfall areas, and it is proposed that the "guinea margaritiferum" type from West Africa represents an independent domestication (10,12). The race "kafir" is associated with the Bantu agricultural tradition, and the race "durra" is considered welladapted to the dryland agricultural areas along the Arabic trade routes from West Africa to India (14).…”

Biofuels Get in the Fast Lane: Developments in Plant Feedstock Production and Processing

“…Alternatively, as an annual crop it is suitable for normal crop rotation with food crops-a preferable cultivation practice rather than consuming valuable cropland. About 4000 different traditional varieties across the world [112] constitute an enormously rich collection of germplasm to be assessed for biofuel potential and to be used as a basis for crop improvement [113,114]. Studies with different sorghum varieties are underway in different parts of the world in order to identify superior genotypes and achieve best bioethanol production performance [111,[115][116][117].…”