Semi-dwarfism and lodging tolerance in tef (Eragrostis tef) is linked to a mutation in the α-Tubulin 1 gene

Jöst, Jan Moritz Michael; Esfeld, Korinna; Burian, Agata Maria; Cannarozzi, Gina Michelle; Chanyalew, Solomon; Kuhlemeier, Cris; Assefa, Kebebew; Tadele, Zerihun (2015). Semi-dwarfism and lodging tolerance in tef (Eragrostis tef) is linked to a mutation in the α-Tubulin 1 gene. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(3), pp. 933-944. Oxford University Press 10.1093/jxb/eru452

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Genetic improvement of native crops is a new and promising strategy to combat hunger in the developing world. Tef is the major staple food crop for approximately 50 million people in Ethiopia. As an indigenous cereal, it is well adapted to diverse climatic and soil conditions; however, its productivity is extremely low mainly due to susceptibility to lodging. Tef has a tall and weak stem, liable to lodge (or fall over), which is aggravated by wind, rain, or application of nitrogen fertilizer. To circumvent this problem, the first semi-dwarf lodging-tolerant tef line, called kegne, was developed from an ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS)-mutagenized population. The response of kegne to microtubule-depolymerizing and -stabilizing drugs, as well as subsequent gene sequencing and segregation analysis, suggests that a defect in the α-Tubulin gene is functionally and genetically tightly linked to the kegne phenotype. In diploid species such as rice, homozygous mutations in α-Tubulin genes result in extreme dwarfism and weak stems. In the allotetraploid tef, only one homeologue is mutated, and the presence of the second intact α-Tubulin gene copy confers the agriculturally beneficial semi-dwarf and lodging-tolerant phenotype. Introgression of kegne into locally adapted and popular tef cultivars in Ethiopia will increase the lodging tolerance in the tef germplasm and, as a result, will improve the productivity of this valuable crop.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Plant Development
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)

UniBE Contributor:

Jöst, Jan Moritz Michael, Esfeld, Korinna, Burian, Agata Maria, Cannarozzi, Gina Michelle, Kuhlemeier, Cris, Tadele, Zerihun

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

0022-0957

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

03 Mar 2015 15:28

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:41

Publisher DOI:

10.1093/jxb/eru452

Additional Information:

Date: February 1, 2015

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Ergarostis tef, kegne, lodging, microtubules, semi-dwarf, tef, α-Tubulin

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.64016

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/64016

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