Australia's native sorghums: a model for testing plant adaptation theories

这一提议考验了一种新兴理论，即植物为生长或防御而分配的资源是相互关联的，而不是目前假设的替代方案。像许多农作物一样，高粱会产生有毒的氰化物，特别是在干旱期间，但它的野生近亲产生的氰化物要少得多。这个项目旨在发现为什么氰化物在驯化的植物中如此普遍，以及为什么氰化物的水平随着压力的增加而增加。这对发展高产和气候适应性强的作物具有重要意义。预期的结果包括澳大利亚所有独特的原生高粱的全基因组序列，证实关于防御和生长之间相互关系的新理论，以及识别对发展未来作物至关重要的新性状。

This proposal tests an emerging theory that allocation of resources by plants to growth or defence are interrelated, not alternatives as currently assumed. Like many crops, sorghum produces toxic cyanide, especially during droughts but its wild relatives make much less. This project aims to discover why cyanide is so common in domesticated plants and why levels increase with stress. This has important implications for developing crops that are high yielding and also climate resilient. Expected outcomes include full genome sequences for all of Australia’s unique native sorghums, confirmation of new theories on the interrelationships between defence and growth and identification of new traits vital for developing the crops of the future.