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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404469
Research Project: Functional Genomics for Improving Nutrients and Quality in Alfalfa and Soybean

Location: Plant Science Research

Title: Inoculation and screening methods for major sorghum diseases caused by fungal pathogens: Claviceps africana, Colletotrichum sublineola, Sporisorium reilianum, Peronosclerospora sorghi and Macrophomina phaseolina

Author
item Ahn, Ezekiel
item FALL, COUMBA - Texas A&M University
item BOTKIN, JACOB - University Of Minnesota
item Curtin, Shaun
item Prom, Louis
item MAGILL, CLINT - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/3/2023
Publication Date: 5/7/2023
Citation: Ahn, E.J., Fall, C., Botkin, J., Curtin, S.J., Prom, L.K., Magill, C.W. 2023. Inoculation and screening methods for major sorghum diseases caused by fungal pathogens: Claviceps africana, Colletotrichum sublineola, Sporisorium reilianum, Peronosclerospora sorghi and Macrophomina phaseolina. Plants. 12(9). Article 1906. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091906.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091906

Interpretive Summary: Sorghum bicolor is considered the 5th most important cereal crop worldwide, but its production is constrained by fungal pathogens such as Claviceps africana, Colletotrichum sublineola, Sporisorium reilianum, Peronosclerospora sorghi and Macrophomina phaseolina. Although there are various inoculation and screening methods for the diseases caused by the pathogens in sorghum, it is necessary to provide an overview of inoculation and screening methods by reviewing literature.

Technical Abstract: Sorghum bicolor is one of major crops that can be used in versatile purposes. Among various fungal pathogens of sorghum, Claviceps africana, Colletotrichum sublineola, Sporisorium reilianum, Peronosclerospora sorghi and Macrophomina phaseolina are considered the most devastating pathogens that cause tremendous yield loss in sorghum. Therefore, sorghum pathologists, who have been studying the pathogens, made creative inoculation and screening methods to study these pathogens over time. This review elaborated multiple inoculation and screening methods per pathogen that are widely used. The methods described within is useful for researchers who are interested in exploring sorghum-fungal pathogen interactions. Lastly, the latest biotechnologies and methods for studying plant-fungal pathogen interactions, and their applicability to sorghum pathology are discussed.