Development of SNP markers closely linked to Sorghum Turcicum Leaf Blight Resistant Genes

Abstract

Exserohilum turcicum is a major fungal pathogen that causes turcicum leaf blight, foliar disease, for both sorghum and maize. The knowledge gained from the analysis of sorghum genes is beneficial to all aspects of plant research, including crop improvement. The knowledge gained from genomic studies on maize to identify quantitative trait loci associated with resistance to E. turcicum is beneficial to sorghum research and the crop improvement. Comparative analysis was undertaken of the maize remorin gene ZmREM6.3, which has been identified to have a significant contribution towards turcicum leaf blight resistance. The gene ZMREM6.3 was retrieved from the maize database. This was used to search the sorghum database in Phytozome. The application of high-resolution melting (HRM) of DNA, a method that allows detecting polymorphism in dsDNA by comparing profiles of melting curves, was used in this study. These SNP markers were developed using the orthologous sorghum remorin gene on linkage group two and validated across diverse Sudanese sorghum cultivars. This is the first evidence of a role for remorins in sorghum-fungal interactions. Quantitative disease resistance is frequently employed by breeders to protect crops from pathogen attack. And this remorin (ZmREM6.3) should be employed to underlying genes and mechanisms which remain largely a matter of conjecture in quantitative resistance against sorghum TLB.
Keywords: Comparative genomics, Exserohilum turcicum, high-resolution melting (HRM), quantitative disease resistance, remorin, sorghum, ZmREM6.3