[P4] Crop Genetics and Physiology

[P4-08] Assessment of Geographical Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Five Sorghum Taxa Collected in Taiwan

*Nominated for Presentation Awards

^○Wei-hsun Hsieh¹, Yi-tzu Kuo¹, Han-hsuan Chin¹, Hsien-chun Liao², Chih-hui Chen², Yann-rong Lin¹ (1.Agronomy, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, 2.Experimental Stations Research, Endemic Species Research Institute, Taiwan)

The genus Sorghum comprises a few C₄ species which are important resources for food, feedstock, and biofuel; instead, some of them are noxious weed. In Taiwan, abundant morphological diversity of five taxa, S. bicolor, S. propinquum, S. halepense, S. bicolor subsp. verticilliflorum and S. vulgare var. technicum were observed. These taxa can be found on wastelands, ditches, and farmlands where certain geographical distribution was observed, indicating different features of spreading within different types of sorghum. The cultivated- and wild-type sorghum were quite distinct. The panicle shape of S. bicolor subsp. verticilliflorum was also distinguishable. Yet, it was difficult to identify them based on plant and panicle architectures easily due to the existence of intermediate types. This study aims to survey the geographical distribution of five sorghum taxa in Western Taiwan and to investigate genetic diversity and clustering analysis among subpopulations estimated from 122 wild collections with 25 highly polymorphic SSR markers. S. halepense subpopulation displayed the highest genetic diversity. S. bicolor subsp. verticilliflorum, possessed the lowest diversity, was separated from the other taxa revealed by principal coordinate analysis, consistent with the result of the neighbor-joining tree. Finally, morphological identification mostly corresponded to the clades shown in the phylogenetic tree. Our study laid a foundation for evolutionary research of Sorghum.