Sorghum is a drought-tolerant grass, cultivated as a food crop in many semi-arid areas of the world. It can therefore help in providing food security in conditions where the maize crop may fail. In some areas it may be the only viable grain crop.
The abundant endosperm found in cereal crops provides nutrition in the form of starch. Starch synthesis is achieved through the co-ordinated activities of specific enzymes, such as the starch synthases and the starch branching enzymes. Since the Sorghum bicolor genome was completed in 2009, new opportunities for comparative genome analysis are improving our understanding of the control of starch synthesis in this important group of plants.
Sorghum in Burkina Faso, West Africa
Plants control their metabolic processes, such as starch synthesis, in response to environmental signals. This control is exerted through the activities of networks of transcription factors, which are not yet well understood. This project, which has not yet been published, was focussed on developing understanding of the role of a WRKY transcription factor in the control of starch synthesis in the endosperm.
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