Bringing the Benefits of Sorghum Genomics to Africa
Sorghum was the first indigenous African crop to have a completed genome sequence. This provides an invaluable tool for understanding sorghum traits genetically and identifying useful molecular markers. The challenge is to extract relevant information to
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Bringing the Benefits of Sorghum Genomics to Africa Segenet Kelemu, Brhane Gebrekidan, and Jagger Harvey
Abstract Sorghum was the first indigenous African crop to have a completed genome sequence. This provides an invaluable tool for understanding sorghum traits genetically and identifying useful molecular markers. The challenge is to extract relevant information to improve the diverse complex traits of sorghum including drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and overall yield. The promise of sorghum to improve food security and help lift millions of Africans out of poverty provides a moral imperative for investing in its improvement. Therefore, we must critically and objectively assess all available resources and coordinate our efforts for the benefit of Africans. Keywords Sorghum • Genomics • Africa • National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) • Crop improvement • Biotic stress • Abiotic stress • Molecular breeding • Capacity building
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Background
Sorghum in Africa generally thrives well under a wide range of growing conditions, being dominant in the semiarid tropical belt of the continent where limited rainfall and high temperatures prevail. The altitude range for the crop stretches from near sea level to about 2,500 m, which means it thrives well under hot and dry conditions as well as in very high and cold highlands, such as in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda.
S. Kelemu (*) • J. Harvey Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub (BecA-ILRI Hub), Kabete Campus, Old Naivasha Road, Nairobi 00100, Kenya e-mail: [email protected] B. Gebrekidan Agriculture Working Group, Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia A.H. Paterson (ed.), Genomics of the Saccharinae, Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models 11, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-5947-8_22, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
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Historically, the sorghum yield levels in Africa have been very low and have remained stagnant (FAO and ICRISAT 1996; http://faostat.fao.org, based on 1961– 2008 data for sorghum yield in Africa). However, the genetic yield potential of the crop could be as high as wheat and maize if the necessary inputs of improved seed, fertilizer, water, crop management, and protection are provided. The low yield trends in the continent are a major cause for concern, indicating that significant research efforts in crop improvement and management are needed. The primary reasons for the low yields are low genetic potentials of cultivars, disease and insect attack, devastation by birds, shortage of soil moisture, poor soil fertility, and overall poor crop management. Throughout Africa, sorghum has multiple uses ranging from staple food to construction material. The main traditional foods made from the sorghum grain are leavened breads (such as injera in Ethiopia and Somalia and kisra in the Sudan), pop-sorghum (fendisha), thin and stiff porridges (ugali, genfo, tuwo), fermented and unfermented traditional drinks, as well as many other dishes. The grain,
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