Ubiquitous in the African landscape, sorghum is a grass that is native to Africa and feeds millions of people in the continent. Recently, scientists from Rutgers University have described the genome of the ‘ Sorghum bicolor,’ and say that they have opened up new possibilities by which to exploit the potential of the plant as both food and biofuel. This augurs well with the latest food security summit which advocated a return to farm support as a way to end hunger.
The experts gathered at the food security summit reiterated the fact that the planet has the capacity to feed everyone. This is despite the other objective fact that there are 1,000 million people suffering from hunger on earth today. Increased food productivity is essential to address the problem of hunger. Sorghum seems to fit the bill. It is characterized by its high resistance to drought and high temperatures, two features of particular relevance at a time of climate change.
The researchers aimed to decode the secrets of the plant’s DNA which is the result of natural adaptation to a hostile environment. The study is published in the journal ‘Nature.’ The bioscientists chose the sorghum cereal because it has proven important to civilization. They say their interest is due to its importance to human and animal life, and more recently, for use as biofuel.
The researchers now have a better idea of the properties of this plant, its resistance to drought, and its cell sugar and grain productivity embedded in its genes. The research also served to learn more about the evolution of sorghum, rice and other cereals, leading to the understanding of the spread and domestication of cereals.
Via ScienceDaily 
