Big Grass Genomics: Harnessing Regulatory Variation for Improvement of Food, Feed, and Bioenergy Crops

The group of closely-related grass species within theAndropogoneae tribe of grasses includes the important global crops maize, sugarcane, sorghum, and Miscanthus.  These grasses share properties of efficient C4 photosynthesis, fast growth and high yields, yet also exhibit diversity that enables broad adaptation to different growing environments and forms of harvestable carbon.  Complete genome sequences are available for the annuals maize and sorghum, and pending forMiscanthus.  When coupled with advanced genetic and biotechnology tools, the Andropogoneae grass crops represent a powerful experimental system to discover key regulatory circuits for traits important for sustainably increasing crop yields.  Recent progress with this approach will be described for identifying key regulatory variation controlling the rate of shoot development, hybrid vigor, nitrogen utilization, and seed nutritional composition.