Institut für Resistenzforschung und Stresstoleranz
The overriding aim of SorBOOM is to harness recent breakthroughs in crop genomics, multilevel modelling and gene editing for boosting grain sorghum breeding progress as a measure to establish an alternative C4-crop for German with an enhanced abiotic stress tolerance, altered seed quality traits and concurrently enhancing biodiversity. SorBOOM is based on the hypothesis that newly available high quality genome sequences along with digital non-destructive phenotyping approaches, coupled with the latest environmental and crop growth modelling as well as biostatistical methods, pave the way for a more efficient breeding of a so far rather neglected crop. The project will benefit from from high-quality chromosome-scale genome assemblies of over 70 parental lines from the JLU-breeding programme that were generated in previous activities in collaboration with partner JKI. These unique resources will be used in association studies to identify genetic, epigenetic and transcriptomic determinants of agronomically relevant traits in unprecedented detail.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
