Discovering the Genetic Architecture of Biomass Yield Components to Design a High-Yielding Biomass Sorghum for Biofuel Production.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has recently emerged as one of the most productive and versatile biofuel crops since it can be used to produce ethanol from grain, from stover, from sugars accumulated in the stems (sweet sorghums) or as a dedicated lignocellulosic biomass crop (particularly photoperiod-sensitive types). The increasing demand for lignocellulosic biomass is leading to a paradigm shift in yield components. We are implementing an integrated approach to improve lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuel production that includes the manipulation of plant architecture traits, leaf photosynthetic capacity, vegetative growth rates and abiotic stress tolerance to design a plant ideotype efficient in the production of vegetative tissue. The genetic mechanisms controlling these biomass yield components are under investigation using high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping technologies and are revealing the complexity of those traits. Additional novel high-throughput phenotyping technologies will be needed to simultaneously and efficiently manipulate yield components to breed for high biomass sorghum for biofuel production.