Associative mapping and transcriptomics in the investigation of sugarcane resistance to smut (Sporisorium scitamineum)

• Grant number: 24/14309-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Anete Pereira de Souza
• Grantee: Débora Thomazim Dias
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Company: Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Embrapa Sede
• Associated research grant: 22/04006-2 - Center for Plant Molecular Breeding (CeM²P), AP.PCPE

Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is the crop with the highest gross production in the world, being of immense importance for the economic and social aspects of Brazil. Modern commercial cultivars are interspecific hybrids with frequent aneuploidy and a high degree of polyploidy, and much more complex genomes when compared to other cultivated species. One of the main diseases that affects this crop is sugarcane smut disease, caused by the fungal species Sporisorium scitamineum (Syd.). If affected, crops of susceptible sugarcane varieties may suffer losses in juice quality and a reduction in production that can reach up to 100%. While classical breeding techniques are still limited for sugarcane, mainly due to its high genetic complexity, molecular and omic approaches are gaining more and more prominence. The development and conduct of molecular studies of genes associated with resistance are, therefore, extremely important to guarantee a way of controlling this disease, avoiding field and economic losses. The present project proposes the application of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate genes associated with smut resistance and elucidate the mechanisms involved, being extremely useful in identifying markers that assist in the selection of superior genotypes resistant to smut pathogen. Furthermore, it proposes to carry out a transcriptome study that would bring important and complementary contributions to the investigation of plant response to infection and resistance to this fungus.