Quantitative and qualitative characterization of epicuticular wax from chemically induced bloomless and sparse bloom mutants of Sorghum bicolor
Abstract
Epicuticular wax (EW) production is a reputed drought resistance trait in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and other crop species. EW is believed to impart to the tissues on which it is deposited dehydration avoidance through decreasing nonstomatal transpiration and increasing reflection of solar radiation. Two aspects of EW production in sorghum, EW load and EW chemistry, are examined and their relationship to EW morphology (glaucousness) is explored. Sorghum culms have a highly glaucous character called the waxy bloom. EW extracted from leaf blades and sheaths from 33 near-isogenic EW production variants termed bloomless (apparently lacking wax) and sparse bloom (having reduced visible wax) derived from chemical mutagenesis have been subjected to quantitative and chemical characterization. Developmental and environmental influences on EW load and composition have been monitored over several growing seasons. The effects of mutation on EW production genes is assessed. Wax extracted from stalks, panicles and grain of selected mutants are chemically analyzed to trace the effects of mutation through the hypothetical EW biosynthetic pathway. The significance of the information gathered to sorghum drought resistance is discussed.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Rhodes, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Botany|Agronomy|Botany
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