Genes Controlling Wax Biosynthesis in Sorghum bicolor: Potential for Improving Crop Performance and Value

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This action funds an NSF National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Dr. Lucas Busta is "Genes Controlling Wax Biosynthesis in Sorghum bicolor: Potential for Improving Crop Performance and Value". The host institution for the fellowship is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Edgar Cahoon, David R. Holding and Chi Zhang.Sorghum bicolor is a multi-use crop with exceptional water- and nitrogen-use efficiency whose expanded use will likely decrease water and fertilizer consumption and create a more sustainable agricultural system. In sorghum, natural waxes cover aerial plant surfaces where they protect against dry climates and increase water-use efficiency. Waxes accumulate in sorghum to levels higher than nearly all other plant species and sorghum kernel waxes are an emerging industrial bioproduct that can be extracted during grain processing. Understanding the processes that regulate sorghum wax biosynthesis and accumulation will enable scientists and plant breeders to (1) potentially transfer some of sorghum's water efficiency to other crops such as maize; and (2) rapidly navigate routes to high-wax sorghum lines with enhanced grain value. This project seeks to identify the genes and gene networks that control sorghum wax deposition. Training objectives include functional genomics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and plant breeding. Broader impact activities include the mentoring and training of undergraduate chemistry students in the analysis of plant chemicals as well as developing a hands-on active learning module and a hands-on laboratory workshop for educating children, adults and young women about the economic, nutritional, and environmental benefits gained through the study of plant chemistry, plant diversity, and crop improvement that will inspire interest in STEM fields, education, and careers. The goal of the project is to combine wax biochemistry with genomics and bioinformatics to identify genes controlling sorghum wax deposition via two complimentary specific aims: (1) identify high-confidence sorghum wax gene candidates by correlating epidermis-specific transcriptomes and comprehensive wax profiles, then evaluate their functionality by performing complementation tests in Arabidopsis wax mutants; and, (2) use bulked segregant RNA-seq mapping to pinpoint causal mutations in existing sorghum mutants affected in both kernel and leaf sheath waxes (as putative transcription factor mutants). In addition to initiating and catalyzing future sorghum wax research and the further development of applications for sorghum wax knowledge, the whole tissue and epidermis-specific gene expression data collected in this project will be made accessible through public repositories as well as through the Sorghum Epidermis Gene Expression Almanac, online server that will be developed as part of this project where users can query sequences against the sorghum transcriptome and view the expression of similar genes in whole tissue and the epidermis of sorghum leaves, leaf sheathes, and developing kernels. Keywords: sorghum, wax biosynthesis and deposition, functional genomics, Arabidopsis mutants, biochemistry, gene expression profilingThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.