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The Sorghum bicolor genome and the diversification of grasses

author(s) Paterson, A H - Bowers, J E - Bruggmann, R - Dubchak, I - Grimwood, J - Gundlach, H - Haberer, G - Hellsten, U - Mitros, T - Poliakov, A - Schmutz, J - Spannagl, M - Tang, H B - Wang, X Y - Wicker, T - Bharti, A K - Chapman, J - Feltus, F A - Gowik, U - Grigoriev, I V - Lyons, E - Maher, C A - Martis, M - Narechania, A - Otillar, R P - Penning, B W - Salamov, A A - Wang, Y - Zhang, L - Carpita, N C - Freeling, M - Gingle, A R - Hash, C T - Keller, B - Klein, P - Kresovich, S - McCann, M C - Ming, R - Peterson, D G - Mehboob, U R - Ware, D - Westhoff, P - Mayer, K F X - Messing, J - Rokhsar, D S
from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
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Paterson, A H and Bowers, J E and Bruggmann, R and Dubchak, I and Grimwood, J and Gundlach, H and Haberer, G and Hellsten, U and Mitros, T and Poliakov, A and Schmutz, J and Spannagl, M and Tang, H B and Wang, X Y and Wicker, T and Bharti, A K and Chapman, J and Feltus, F A and Gowik, U and Grigoriev, I V and Lyons, E and Maher, C A and Martis, M and Narechania, A and Otillar, R P and Penning, B W and Salamov, A A and Wang, Y and Zhang, L and Carpita, N C and Freeling, M and Gingle, A R and Hash, C T and Keller, B and Klein, P and Kresovich, S and McCann, M C and Ming, R and Peterson, D G and Mehboob, U R and Ware, D and Westhoff, P and Mayer, K F X and Messing, J and Rokhsar, D S (2009) The Sorghum bicolor genome and the diversification of grasses. Nature, 457. pp. 551-556

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Abstract

Sorghum, an African grass related to sugar cane and maize, is grown for food, feed, fibre and fuel. We present an initial analysis of the -730-megabase Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench genome, placing -98% of genes in their chromosomal context using whole-genome shotgun sequence validated by genetic, physical and syntenic information. Genetic recombination is largely confined to about one-third of the sorghum genome with gene order and density similar to those of rice. Retrotransposon accumulation in recombinationally recalcitrant heterochromatin explains the -75% larger genome size of sorghum compared with rice. Although gene and repetitive DNA distributions have been preserved since palaeopolyploidization ~70 million years ago, most duplicated gene sets lost one member before the sorghum-rice divergence. Concerted evolution makes one duplicated chromosomal segment appear to be only a few million years old. About 24% of genes are grass-specific and 7% are sorghum-specific. Recent gene and microRNA duplications may contribute to sorghum's drought tolerance

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