Strigolactone Biosynthesis Lgs1 Mutant Alleles Mined from the Sorghum Accession Panel are a Promising Resource of Resistance to Witchweed (Striga) Parasitism
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Date
2023-09
Authors
Mutinda, Sylvia
Jamil, Muhammad
Wang, Jian You
Berqdar, Lamis
Ateka, Elijah
Bellis, Emily S.
Al-Babili, Salim
Runo, Steven
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Plants, People, Planet
Abstract
Societal Impact Statement
Striga is a parasitic plant that greatly limits the production of Africa's most staple
cereals, including sorghum. Infection occurs when the parasite germinates in
response to biomolecules emitted into the soil from the host's roots. Some sorghum
genotypes harbor a mutation that makes them ineffective in stimulating Striga seed
germination. This resistance is of great importance because of its possible application
in Striga management. Here, additional resistant sorghum genotypes with varying
levels of Striga resistance are discussed in the context of their candidacy for integration in breeding programs and their possible role in alleviating food insecurity in subSaharan Africa by reducing crop losses because of Striga infestation.
Summary
• Sorghum is a food staple for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa, but its production is greatly diminished by Striga, a parasitic weed. An efficient and costeffective way of managing Striga in smallholder farms in Africa is to deploy resistant varieties of sorghum.
• Here, we leverage genomics and the vast genetic diversity of sorghum—
evolutionarily adapted to cope with Striga parasitism in Africa—to identify new
Striga-resistant sorghum genotypes by exploiting a resistance mechanism hinged
on communication molecules called strigolactones (SLs), exuded by hosts to trigger
parasite seed germination. We achieved this by mining for mutant alleles of the
LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 (LGS1) that are ineffective in stimulating Striga
germination from the sorghum accession panel (SAP).
• Our analysis identified lgs1 sorghum genotypes, which we named SAP-lgs1. SAPlgs1 had the SL exudation profile of known lgs1 sorghum, whose hallmark is the
production of the low inducer of germination, orobanchol. Laboratory and field
resistance screens showed that the SAP-lgs1 genotypes also exhibited remarkable
resistance against Striga.
• Our findings have the potential to reduce crop losses because of Striga parasitism
and therefore have far-reaching implications for improving food security in Africa.
Description
Article
Keywords
allele mining, food security, LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1, Striga resistance, strigolactones, sub-Saharan Africa, witchweed
Citation
Mutinda, S., Jamil, M., Wang, J. Y., Berqdar, L., Ateka, E., Bellis, E. S., ... & Runo, S. (2023). Strigolactone biosynthesis lgs1 mutant alleles mined from the sorghum accession panel are a promising resource of resistance to witchweed (Striga) parasitism. Plants, People, Planet.