Sorghum Genome Mapping and Its Impact Generated Through Public and Private Efforts

Abstract

In 2009, the sequence and annotation of a sorghum whole genome was reported by a team of international collaborators, followed by resequencing and complete annotation of the sorghum transcriptome and methylome together with the identification of genomewide structural variations through national initiatives. The genome, structural variations, quantitative trait loci (QTLs), genes, and alternative splicing (AS) events encode useful agronomic information that needs to be decoded for sorghum improvement through genetic manipulations of key metabolic pathways. Here, we review the background history of the national and international sorghum genome initiatives, public and private partners involved, sorghum genome databases for robust computational methods for sequence analysis, and the impact of the genome information on sorghum improvement.