Plant Biology Commons^™

Genome-Wide Association Mapping Of Qualitatively Inherited Traits In A Germplasm Collection, Nonoy B. Bandillo, Aaron J. Lorenz, George L. Graef, Diego Jarquin, David L. Hyten, Randall L. Nelson, James E. Specht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genome-wide association (GWA) has been used as a tool for dissecting the genetic architecture of quantitatively inherited traits. We demonstrate here that GWA can also be highly useful for detecting many major genes governing categorically defined phenotype variants that exist for qualitatively inherited traits in a germplasm collection. Genome-wide association mapping was applied to categorical phenotypic data available for 10 descriptive traits in a collection of ~13,000 soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] accessions that had been genotyped with a 50,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip. A GWA on a panel of accessions of this magnitude can offer substantial statistical …

Mechanisms, Applications, And Perspectives Of Antiviral Rna Silencing In Plants / Mecanismos, Aplicaciones Y Perspectivas Del Silenciamiento Génico De Virus En Plantas, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz, Mayra Teresa Garcia Ruiz, Sergio Manuel Gabriel Peralta, Cristina Betzabeth Miravel Gabriel, Kaoutar El-Mounadi

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Viral diseases of plants cause important economic losses due to reduction in crop quality and quantity to the point of threatening food security in some countries. Given the reduced availability of natural sources, genetic resistance to viruses has been successfully engineered for some plant-virus combinations. A sound understanding of the basic mechanisms governing plant-virus interactions, including antiviral RNA silencing, is the foundation to design better management strategies and biotechnological approaches to engineer and implement antiviral resistance in plants. In this review, we present current molecular models to explain antiviral RNA silencing and its application in basic plant research, biotechnology and …

Cytokinin Acts Through The Auxin Influx Carrier Aux1 To Regulate Cell Elongation In The Root, Ian H. Street, Dennis Matthews, Maria Yamburkenko, Ali Sorooshzadeh

Dartmouth Scholarship

Hormonal interactions are crucial for plant development. In Arabidopsis, cytokinins inhibit root growth through effects on cell proliferation and cell elongation. Here, we define key mechanistic elements in a regulatory network by which cytokinin inhibits root cell elongation in concert with the hormones auxin and ethylene. The auxin importer AUX1 functions as a positive regulator of cytokinin responses in the root; mutation of AUX1 specifically affects the ability of cytokinin to inhibit cell elongation but not cell proliferation. AUX1 is required for cytokinin-dependent changes of auxin activity in the lateral root cap associated with the control of cell elongation. Cytokinin …

The Effects Of Compost And Polyacrylamide Hydrogel On The Re-Vegetation Of Eroded Southern Aspects In The Western Rangeland, Allison R. Klocke, David A. Stein

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

MPG Ranch is a conservation-oriented organization in Montana’s Bitterroot valley. Since 2010, MPG has annually planted between 5,000 and 10,000 shrubs and trees with the goal of restoring native plant communities, beautifying the landscape, and providing habitat and forage for wildlife. Plant survival has been lowest on degraded south facing slopes, likely due to a combination of erosion and high solar radiation, which have left the soil with low nutrient content, soil moisture, and high soil temperatures. To resolve these issues, we partnered with MPG to test whether soil amendments can be used to increase plant establishment on degraded hillslopes. …

Proteomic Profiling Of Maize Opaque Endosperm Mutants Reveals Selective Accumulation Of Lysine-Enriched Proteins, Kyla J. Morton, Shangang Jia, Chi Zhang, David R. Holding

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Reduced prolamin (zein) accumulation and defective endoplasmic reticulum (ER) body formation occurs in maize opaque endosperm mutants opaque2 (o2), floury2 (fl2), defective endosperm*B30 (DeB30), and Mucronate (Mc), whereas other opaque mutants such as opaque1 (o1) and floury1 (fl1) are normal in these regards. This suggests that other factors contribute to kernel texture. A liquid chromatography approach coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) proteomics was used to compare non-zein proteins of nearly isogenic opaque endosperm mutants. In total, 2762 proteins were identified that were enriched for biological processes such …

Incidence Of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, Triticum Mosaic Virus, And Wheat Mosaic Virus In Wheat Curl Mites Recovered From Maturing Winter Wheat Spikes, E. Byamukama, S. Tatineni, G. Hein, J. Mcmechan, S. N. Wegulo

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Wheat curl mites (WCM; Aceria tosichella) transmit Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV), and Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Great Plains region of the United States. These viruses can be detected in single, double, or triple combinations in leaf samples. Information on incidence of viruses inWCM at the end of the growing season is scant. The availability of this information can enhance our knowledge of the epidemiology ofWCM-transmitted viruses. This research was conducted to determine the frequency of occurrence of WSMV, TriMV, and WMoV in WCM populations on fieldcollected maturing …

Developing The Framework For A Risk Map For Mite Vectored Viruses In Wheat Resulting From Pre-Harvest Hail Damage, Anthony L. Nguy-Robertson, Arthur Zygielbaum, Anthony J. Mcmechan, Gary L. Hein, Stephen N. Wegulo, Abby R. Stilwell, Travis M. Smith

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

There is a strong economic incentive to reduce mite-vectored virus outbreaks. Most outbreaks in the central High Plains of the United States occur in the presence of volunteer wheat that emerges before harvest as a result of hail storms. This study provides a conceptual framework for developing a risk map for wheat diseases caused by mite-vectored viruses based on pre-harvest hail events. Traditional methods that use NDVI were found to be unsuitable due to low chlorophyll content in wheat at harvest. Site-level hyperspectral reflectance from mechanically hailed wheat showed increased canopy albedo. Therefore, any increase in NIR combined with large …

Sequence Variation In Two Genes Determines The Efficacy Of Transmission Of Citrus Tristeza Virus By The Brown Citrus Aphid, S. J. Harper, N. Killiny, Satyanarayana Tatineni, S. Gowda, S. J. Cowell, T. Shilts, W. O. Dawson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Vector transmission is an important part of the viral infection cycle, yet for many viruses little is known about this process, or how viral sequence variation affects transmission efficacy. Here we examined the effect of substituting genes from the highly transmissible FS577 isolate of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) in to the poorly transmissible T36-based infectious clone. We found that introducing p65 or p61 sequences from FS577 significantly increased transmission efficacy. Interestingly, replacement of both genes produced a greater increase than either gene alone, suggesting that CTV transmission requires the concerted action of co-evolved p65 and p61 proteins.

Field Damage Of Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) With Reduced Lignin Levels By Naturally Occurring Insect Pests And Pathogens, Patrick F. Dowd, Deanna L. Funnell-Harris, Scott E. Sattler

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) brown midrib (bmr) mutant lines have reduced levels of lignin, which is a potentially useful trait for bioenergy production, but the effects of this trait on insect and plant pathogen interactions are unknown under field conditions. Field-grown bmr6, bmr12, and wild-type (WT) plants were examined for insect and disease damage. In most cases, observed frequency, population, or leaf area damage caused by insects or pathogens on bmr6 or bmr12 plants were not greater than those observed on WT plants in the field or laboratory assays. European corn borers [Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner)(Lepidoptera: …

What's New In Plant Pathology, Anthony O. Adesemoye, Loren Giesler, Robert M. Harveson, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems, Kevin Korus, Stephen N. Wegulo

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Changes to the Disease Management Section of the 2016 Guide for Weed, Disease, and Insect Management in Nebraska

Biological control Products

Trivapro Fungicide

Priaxor D. Fungicide

Table 1. Foliar products for disease control that were updated in the 2016 Guide for Weed, Disease and Insect Management in Nebraska.

Table 2. Seed treatment products for disease control that were updated in the 2016 Guide for Weed, Disease and Insect Management in Nebraska.

Table 3. Seed treatment nematicide product that was updated in the 2016 Guide for Weed, Disease and Insect Management in Nebraska.

Fungicide Application Timing And Disease Control, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems, Loren J. Giesler, Robert M. Harveson, Stephen N. Wegulo, Kevin Korus, Anthony O. Adesemoye

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Wet weather that persisted during much of the 2015 growing season proved to be very favorable for disease development in several crops across Nebraska. In particular, diseases caused by fungi were favored by repeated rainfall events and high relative humidity, fog, etc., that supported the production of more spores and continuous plant infection. On some susceptible varieties and hybrids, diseases developed early and quickly eventually reaching moderate to severe levels. Foliar fungicides were applied one or more times to some crops in an effort to mitigate losses due to disease. However, low crop prices and narrow profit margins made foliar …

Corn Disease Update, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The 2015 corn crop was impacted by several corn diseases from the beginning to the end of the season and in all areas of Nebraska. The increased severity and incidence of some diseases was largely due to the extended periods of favorable weather conditions in varying parts of the state that supported the increase in some diseases. In particular, frequent rainfall and high relative humidity were especially favorable for several fungal diseases. Unfortunately, almost all diseases of corn (except rusts) are caused by pathogens that can successfully overwinter in Nebraska. For this reason, making detailed notes on disease development and …

Trivapro A + Trivapro B Application Timing And Disease Efficacy In Field Corn In Nebraska, 2015, J. D. Harbour, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The objective of the trial was to evaluate foliar fungicides and application timings for crop response and foliar disease efficacy. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8 % OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to grey leaf spot (GLS)) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Seven treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with six replications. …

Fungicide And Herbicide Effects On Grey Leaf Spot In Nebraska Field Corn, 2015, J. D. Harbour, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The objective of the trial was to compare foliar fungicides applied to three growth stages of corn for grey leaf spot (GLS) efficacy. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8 % OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to gray leaf spot (GLS)) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Five treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design …

A Foliar Fungicide Plus Herbicide Tank Mixture Evaluation In Field Corn In Nebraska, 2015, J. D. Harbour, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The objective of the trial was to evaluate the tank mixture of Laudis herbicide plus Stratego YLD fungicide for corn response. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8 % OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to gray leaf spot (GLS)) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Four treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with six …

Corn Disease Profiles: Diseases Favored By Dry Conditions, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems, Anthony O. Adesemoye, Loren J. Giesler, Robert M. Harveson, Kevin A. Korus, Stephen N. Wegulo

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Extension Circular 1910 (EC1910)

Extreme weather events are predicted to become increasingly common and could bring periods of drought as well as intense rainfall events. Wet conditions are favorable for many plant pathogens and the development of diseases, but some diseases may also develop during or following dry weather. The timing during the season when dry conditions occur, as well as other factors, such as temperature, impact which diseases develop and when. The list summarizes some of the most common corn diseases that can develop during dry conditions: Seedling Root Rot Diseases, Nematodes, Common Smut, Rust Diseases Charcoal Rot, Stalk …

Corn Disease Profiles: Diseases Favored By Wet Conditions, Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems, Anthony O. Adesemoye, Loren J. Giesler, Robert M. Harveson, Kevin A. Korus, Stephen N. Wegulo

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Extension Circular 1909 (EC1909)

Extreme weather events are predicted to become increasingly common and could bring periods of more intense rainfall. Wet conditions are favorable for many plant pathogens and the development of diseases. Seasonal timing when these conditions occur, as well as other factors such as temperature, impact which diseases develop and when. Listed, described, and illustrated are some common corn diseases favored by wet conditions: Pythium Root Rot, Eyespot, Northern Corn Leaf Blight, Gray Leaf Spot, Physoderma Brown Spot, Rust Diseases (Puccinia spp.), Stalk and Crown Rot Diseases (such as those caused by Fusarium and Diplodia spp.), …

Shrubland Resilience Varies Across Soil Types: Implications For Operationalizing Resilience In Ecological Restoration, Carissa L. Wonkka, Dirac L. Twidwell, Jacob B. West, William E. Rogers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In ecosystems with alternative stable states, restoration success can be thought of as overcoming the resilience of an undesirable state to promote an alternative state that yields greater ecosystem services. Since greater resilience of undesirable states translates into reduced restoration potential, quantifying differences in resilience can enhance restoration planning. In the context of shrub- encroached rangeland restoration, shrubland resilience is the capacity of a woody vegetated state to absorb management interventions designed to produce a more desirable grass- dominated state, and remain within its current regime. Therefore, differences in the resilience of a state can be quantifi ed in a …

Growing Sensitivity Of Maize To Water Scarcity Under Climate Change, Qingfeng Meng, Xinping Chen, David B. Lobell, Zhenling Cui, Yi Zhang, Haishun Yang, Fusuo Zhang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Climate change can reduce crop yields and thereby threaten food security. The current measures used to adapt to climate change involve avoiding crops yield decrease, however, the limitations of such measures due to water and other resources scarcity have not been well understood. Here, we quantify how the sensitivity of maize to water availability has increased because of the shift toward longer-maturing varieties during last three decades in the Chinese Maize Belt (CMB). We report that modern, longer-maturing varieties have extended the growing period by an average of 8 days and have significantly offset the negative impacts of climate change …

Information Thermodynamics Of Cytosine Dna Methylation, Robersy Sanchez Rodriguez, Sally Ann Mackenzie

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cytosine DNA methylation (CDM) is a stable epigenetic modification to the genome and a widespread regulatory process in living organisms that involves multicomponent molecular machines. Genome-wide cytosine methylation patterning participates in the epigenetic reprogramming of a cell, suggesting that the biological information contained within methylation positions may be amenable to decoding. Adaptation to a new cellular or organismal environment also implies the potential for genome-wide redistribution of CDM changes that will ensure the stability of DNA molecules. This raises the question of whether or not we would be able to sort out the regulatory methylation signals from the CDM background …

Herbicide Options For Effective Weed Management In Dry Directseeded Rice Under Scented Rice-Wheat Rotation Of Western Indo- Gangetic Plains, Vijay Singh, Mangi L. Jat, Zahoor A. Ganie, Bhagirath S. Chauhan, Raj K. Gupta

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Farmers' participatory field trials were conducted at Madhuban, and Taraori, the two participatory experimental sites/locations of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), a collaborative project of IRRI and CIMMYT in Karnal district of Haryana, India, during Kharif (wet season) 2010 and 2011. This research aimed to evaluate preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicides for providing feasible and economically viable weed management options to farmers for predominant scented rice varieties. Treatments with pendimethalin PRE fb bispyribac-sodium þ azimsulfuron POST had lower weed biomass at 45 days after sowing (DAS). At Madhuban, highest grain yield of scented basmati rice (3.43 …

Prospects For Increasing Sugarcane And Bioethanol Production On Existing Crop Area In Brazil, Fabio R. Martin, Geraldo B. Martha,Jr, Kenneth G. Cassman, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This article assesses sugarcane yield gaps (YG) in Brazil to determine the degree to which production can be increased without land expansion. In our scenario assessments, we evaluated how much of the projected sugarcane demand to 2024 (for both sugar and bioethanol) can be satisfied through YG closure. The current national average yield is 62% of yield potential estimated for rainfed conditions (i.e., a YG of 38%). Continuing the historical rate of yield gain is not sufficient to meet the projected demand without an area expansion by 5% and 45% for lowand high-demand scenarios, respectively. Closing the exploitable YG to …

Glyphosate-Resistant Weed Control And Soybean Injury In Response To Different Ppo-Inhibiting Herbicides, Jatinder S. Aulakh, P. S. Chahal, Amit J. Jhala

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In Nebraska, 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) as well as acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitor-resistant weeds occur in many soybean fields where herbicides from these modes-of-action have been frequently used in the past. Currently, the protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibitors are the only effective herbicides for POST control of both glyphosate- and ALS-inhibitor-resistant weeds in soybean. Greenhouse experiments were conducted in 2014 to evaluate the efficacy of PPO-inhibitors applied POST for the control of three glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds and potential for soybean injury, when applied at two growth stages. All herbicide treatments controlled 10- and 20-cm tall GR common waterhemp ≥ 95% at 21 DAT. …

Estimation Of The Degree Of Diversity For Some Iraqi Wheat Varieties Through Issr, Srap And Rapd Markers, Dhafir H. Al-Kaab, Majid Sh. Hamdalla, Ismail M. Dweikat, Noora J. Al-Saedi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

DNA-based molecular markers such as Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR), Sequence-Related Amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) were used in this study to examine the genetic differences among sixteen Iraqi wheat varieties. Seventy three primers out of 177 were reproducible and showed clear amplified bands. The degree of genetic diversity, Polymorphism information content (PIC) and resolving power (RP) were estimated. All the studied molecular markers were informative and showed good ability to classify and distinguish 16 wheat varieties. Total number of polymorphic bands is 134, 221 and 55 for ISSR, SRAP and RAPD respectively. PIC and RP …

The C-Terminal Motif Of Siago1b Is Required For The Regulation Of Growth, Development And Stress Responses In Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica (L.) P. Beauv), Xiaotong Liu, Sha Tang, Guanqing Jia, James C. Schnable, Haixia Su, Chanjuan Tang, Hui Zhi, Xianmin Diao

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv), which belongs to the Panicoideae tribe of the Poaceae, is an important grain crop widely grown in Northern China and India. It is currently developing into a novel model species for functional genomics of the Panicoideae as a result of its fully available reference genome sequence, small diploid genome (2n=18, ~510 Mb), short life cycle, small stature and prolific seed production. Argonaute 1 (AGO1), belonging to the argonaute (AGO) protein family, recruits small RNAs and regulates plant growth and development. Here, we characterized an AGO1 mutant (siago1b) in foxtail millet, which …

Genomic Prediction Models For Grain Yield Of Spring Bread Wheat In Diverse Agro-Ecological Zones, C. Saint Pierre, Juan Burgueño, Jose Crossa, G. Fuentes Dávila, P. Figueroa López, E. Solís Moya, J. Ireta Moreno, V. M. Hernández Muela, V. M. Zamora Villa, P. Vikram, K. Mathews, C. Sansaloni, D. Sehgal, Diego Jarquin, P. Wenzl, Sukhwinder Singh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genomic and pedigree predictions for grain yield and agronomic traits were carried out using high density molecular data on a set of 803 spring wheat lines that were evaluated in 5 sites characterized by several environmental co-variables. Seven statistical models were tested using two random cross-validations schemes. Two other prediction problems were studied, namely predicting the lines’ performance at one site with another (pairwise-site) and at untested sites (leave-one-site-out). Grain yield ranged from 3.7 to 9.0 t ha⁻¹ across sites. The best predictability was observed when genotypic and pedigree data were included in the models and their interaction with …

Genomic Prediction Of Gene Bank Wheat Landraces, José Crossa, Diego Jarquin, Jorge Franco, Paulino Pérez-Rodríguez, Juan Burgueño, Carolina Saint-Pierre, Prashant Vikram, Carolina Sansaloni, Cesar Petroli, Denis Akdemir, Clay Sneller, Matthew Reynolds, Maria Tattaris, Thomas Payne, Carlos Guzman, Roberto J. Peña, Peter Wenzl, Sukhwinder Singh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This study examines genomic prediction within 8416 Mexican landrace accessions and 2403 Iranian landrace accessions stored in gene banks. The Mexican and Iranian collections were evaluated in separate field trials, including an optimum environment for several traits, and in two separate environments (drought, D and heat, H) for the highly heritable traits, days to heading (DTH), and days to maturity (DTM). Analyses accounting and not accounting for population structure were performed. Genomic prediction models include genotype × environment interaction (G × E). Two alternative prediction strategies were studied: (1) random cross-validation of the data in 20% training (TRN) and 80% …

Root Biomass And Soil Carbon Response To Growing Perennial Grasses For Bioenergy, Leonard C. Kibet, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Robert B. Mitchell, Walter H. Schacht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Dedicated bioenergy crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), miscanthus [Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg)], indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash], and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) can provide cellulosic feedstock for biofuel production while maintaining or improving soil and environmental quality. To better understand bioenergy crop effects on soils, we studied changes in soil properties of a Tomek silt loam under inorganic fertilization of switchgrass after 4 years and warm-season grass monocultures and mixtures after 6 years in eastern Nebraska.

Methods: The first experiment had two study factors: two switchgrass harvest dates (August and …

Genomic Prediction Of Single Crosses In The Early Stages Of A Maize Hybrid Breeding Pipeline, Dnyaneshwar C. Kadam, Sarah M. Potts, Martin O. Bohn, Alexander E. Lipka, Aaron J. Lorenz

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Prediction of single-cross performance has been a major goal of plant breeders since the beginning of hybrid breeding. Recently, genomic prediction has shown to be a promising approach, but only limited studies have examined the accuracy of predicting single-cross performance. Moreover, no studies have examined the potential of predicting single crosses among random inbreds derived from a series of biparental families, which resembles the structure of germplasm comprising the initial stages of a hybrid maize breeding pipeline. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of genomic prediction for identifying superior single crosses early in the hybrid …

The Draft Genome Of The C3 Panicoid Grass Species Dichanthelium Oligosanthes, Anthony J. Studer, James C. Schnable, Sarit Weissmann, Allison R. Kolbe, Michael R. Mckain, Ying Shao, Asaph B. Cousins, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, Thomas P. Brutnell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Comparisons between C₃ and C₄ grasses often utilize C₃ species from the subfamilies Ehrhartoideae or Pooideae and C₄ species from the subfamily Panicoideae, two clades that diverged over 50 million years ago. The divergence of the C₃ panicoid grass Dichanthelium oligosanthes from the independent C₄ lineages represented by Setaria viridis and Sorghum bicolor occurred approximately 15 million years ago, which is significantly more recent than members of the Bambusoideae, Ehrhartoideae, and Pooideae subfamilies. D. oligosanthes is ideally placed within the panicoid clade for comparative studies of C₃ and C₄ grasses.

Results: …