The most important crops in the U.S. for food and biofuel are all closely related, members of a plant group known as Andropogoneae. Corn (maize), the crop with the highest dollar value, is related to sorghum and sugarcane, the potential biofuel Miscanthus and about 1000 other wild species. Because the entire genomes of corn and sorghum have been sequenced, we can translate information from these crops to wild species and conversely, we can study wild species to help develop better crops. This project will use DNA sequences to determine how members of the group are related to each other, and then will use that information to assess how their genomes have evolved. Genome doubling is very common in this group, and may have allowed the species to colonize new habitats and to develop new growth forms. This work will illuminate untapped genetic resources that crop breeders desperately need to feed the planet.
Data from this project can be used for crop improvement, for identifying new sources of biofuels, and for understanding the response of American and African grasslands to climate change. Training of undergraduate and graduate students in grass taxonomy, analysis of DNA data, and plant genome evolution is another part of this project. Education components of the project include involvement of undergraduate lab assistants, participation in the summer program for high school students at UMSL, and involvement in the Botanical Society's PlantingScience program. In addition, we will develop a graduate computational course built around the analytical components of this project, so that beginning graduate students can contribute directly to the analysis of sequence data.
