The effectiveness of host plant resistance (HPR) to manage the sugarcane aphid (SCA) in sorghum depends on understanding the timing of the pest in relation to the developmental stage of the plant, as sorghum plant age greatly influences SCA colonization through differences in triterpenoids and available sugars.
Protein expression levels of maize and sorghum orthologs were compared in drought conditions. Phenylpropanoids, sucrose, melanin-related metabolites and indole acetic acid (auxin) were identified as underlying the greater water stress tolerance in sorghum.
A predictive model was developed to classify drought responsive genes in sorghum across development, genotype and stress severity. This sorghum trained model was applied to maize that detected a core set of drought-responsive genes across diverse sorghum and maize genotypes which are conserved and associated with abiotic stress response pathways.
Recent studies into the function of trehalose 6-phosphate (Tre6P) in C4 plants warrant further research into the molecular mechanisms involved in Tre6P regulation of carbon partitioning and metabolism in these crops for increased grain yield and food production.
