The quest for commercially productive grain sorghum traits are literally "in the bag" for sorghum researchers who have initiated the world's biggest sorghum reverse genetics project.
The ground-breaking reverse genetics project is being led by Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries senior biotechnology research scientist Dr Emma Mace and principal plant breeder Dr David Jordan based at Warwick district’s Hermitage Research Station.
The Biloela Research Station field trials are being overseen by resident research scientist Dr Sally Dillon.
It is not too difficult to identify the one hectare Biloela trial site where some 40,000 brown paper bags encase a selected grain head from each plant of the spring-sown sorghum planted in the first week of September.
Dr Dillon said the unique trial supported by DPI&F New Initiative funding involves three treatments to chemically mutate sorghum seed from one plant breeding line to create changes in the DNA that are reflected in the appearance of the growing plant.
"By looking at the changes in the DNA, we can identify and single out the characteristics of the mutated plants that could offer potential benefits to the industry and contribute to an international bank of scientific knowledge," Dr Dillon said.
"This is the reverse approach to the previous strategy where the physical plant attributes have been matched to the DNA enabling researchers to identify known genes responsible for plant function such as plant height, midge resistance and stay green drought tolerance."
Dr Dillon said the current project has used chemical mutation to cause changes to plant structure and performance.
The field trial is an extremely labour intensive operation that has required 12 or more trained field staff to select and bag the biggest seed head from each plant at the time of maximum flowering.
They have been in the field for up to 8 hours/day for six weeks.
Dr Dillon said the treated sorghum seed was planted on a full moisture profile and irrigated once with a travelling boom spray boosted by 175mm of in-crop rain up until the second week of December.
Each seed head will be individually hand harvested in January and be immediately replanted in order to stabilise any genetic changes in each line.
"Our next step will be to put this stabilised breeding material back into the paddock in late 2009.
"By 2010 our research effort will be trying to match the changes in DNA to phenotype changes such as seed head size, grain size, tillering and drought resistance," Dr Dillon said.
As a part of the Sorghum Reverse Genetics project, Dr Dillon will continue to cross native sorghum species with sorghum cultivars to identify drought hardiness as well as disease and insect resistance traits that have commercial potential.
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