Identicaition of genes associated with male sterility in sorghum using a mutant population

Nuclear male sterility (NMS) is important for understanding microspore development and could facilitate the development of a two-line breeding system in sorghum. Several NMS lines and mutants have been identified in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], but no male sterile gene has been reported previously. In this project, we characterized a series of sorghum male sterile mutants in an EMS mutant population and identified the causal genes by Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based bulked-segregant analysis (BSA) approaches. These genes provide new genetic tools for studying pollen development and controlling male sterility in sorghum.