Transcriptomic analysis of sugar accumulation in sorghum

Sorghum has many properties that make it a promising potential biofuel stock. It also has a large range of sugar yields from the stem depending on the line and application. A major differentiator between high sugar sweet sorghum and low stem sugar grain sorghum is a nonfunctional allele for the NAC074A transcription factor at the Dry locus. However, even sweet sorghums can store more sugar in the stem after decapitation, which implies that the maximum potential has not yet been reached. We performed a decapitation treatment on a pair of near isogenic lines differentiated at the D-locus to investigate the transcriptomic response to increased sugar accumulation, and we identified differentially expressed genes related to programmed cell death, as well as a bHLH093 homolog involved upstream of gibberellin signaling. In addition, we detected enriched motifs associated with ethylene response, which may indicate a role in programmed cell death, and an induction of the hexose transporter SWEET1A, which may suggest an increase in the apoplasmic unloading at sink tissues. These genes that operate independently of the NAC074A mechanism provide a solid foundation for future study, as well as potential engineering targets.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Plant Biology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Beuchat, Gabriel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chen, Liqing
• Studer, Anthony
• Ainsworth, Elizabeth
• Brooks, Matt
• Chen, Jin

• Sorghum
• Transcriptomics
• Source-sink
• Decapitation

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Gabriel Beuchat

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121409

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121409