Mapping and Characterization of Sorghum Disease Resistance Genes From Diverse Genotypes.

Growing sorghum in Florida presents many challenges to the arid native, one major obstacle being disease pressure. A goal that the UF sorghum breeding program has set for itself is to develop lines with resistance to anthracnose (Colletotrichum sublineolum). A large number of inbred lines from crosses between several sources of disease resistance genotypes and susceptible ones are used, which present a diverse array of response to artificial inoculation with anthracnose, as well as susceptibility to other fungal pathogens naturally present in the area. With these lines, additional genes were searched for that confer anthracnose resistance, and their interactions were looked for. An assay is being developed for various pathogens to look at the rest of the pathogen complex, as well as a sorghum diversity panel is being assembled to test divergent alleles.