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.

核雄性不育（NMS）对于理解小孢子发育具有重要意义，并有助于促进高粱（Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench）两系育种系统的发展。在高粱中已鉴定出多种NMS品系和突变体，然而，此前尚未报道过任何雄性不育基因。在本项目中，我们对EMS突变体群体中的一系列高粱雄性不育突变体进行了特性分析，并通过基于下一代测序（NGS）的大片段分离分析（BSA）方法鉴定了致因基因。这些基因为研究花粉发育和调控高粱的雄性不育提供了新的遗传工具。