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Beer and fodder crop has been deteriorating for 6,000 years

Date:
April 8, 2019
Source:
University of Warwick
Summary:
The diversity of the crop sorghum, a cereal used to make alcoholic drinks, has been decreasing over time due to agricultural practice. To maintain the diversity of the crop and keep it growing farmers will need to revise how they manage it.
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The diversity of the crop Sorghum, a cereal used to make alcoholic drinks, has been decreasing over time due to agricultural practice. To maintain the diversity of the crop and keep it growing farmers will need to revise how they manage it.

Sorghum bicoloris a crop widely used for animal feed, and making beer.

The history of sorghum from its original domesticated state to todays domesticated cereal has been found to be heavily influenced by human action, continuing to treat the plant as we currently do could mean the continued degradation of the crop.

One current type of sorghum harvested is calledSorghum bicolor, but there are several different sorghum types, and in the past they have been saving each other by sharing undamaged genes, in a process called introgression.

The wild ancestors of sorghum represent genomes that have not been damaged through cultivation. Although we don't harvest the wild ancestors of sorghum it's necessary to keep them alive as the ability to adapt to their surroundings by introgression could be crucial in the future ofSorghum bicolorto threats of climate change, meaning crops have to adapt to new environments.

InSorghum bicolor, damage to their genes is happening by the way it's farmed, meaning their core genome functions are accumulating damage over time, therefore we need to repair the crops genomic damage or productivity could decline.

Professor Robin Allaby, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick comments:

"Sorghum bicolor是世界第五最重要的蜡膜al crop and the most important crop in arid zones. It's used for animal feed and beer and is grown particularly in North-Eastern Africa generating an economy there.

"If we can't save sorghum's ancestors and use those genes to helpSorghum bicolorrepair its genomic damage we could risk damaging the crop further. This could mean less animal feed, food and beer, as well as potentially damaging trade in North-East Africa."

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Materialsprovided byUniversity of Warwick.Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Oliver Smith, William V. Nicholson, Logan Kistler, Emma Mace, Alan Clapham, Pamela Rose, Chris Stevens, Roselyn Ware, Siva Samavedam, Guy Barker, David Jordan, Dorian Q. Fuller, Robin G. Allaby.A domestication history of dynamic adaptation and genomic deterioration in Sorghum.Nature Plants, 2019; 5 (4): 369 DOI:10.1038/s41477-019-0397-9

Cite This Page:

University of Warwick. "Beer and fodder crop has been deteriorating for 6,000 years." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 April 2019. .
University of Warwick. (2019, April 8). Beer and fodder crop has been deteriorating for 6,000 years.ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 21, 2023 from www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/04/190408114010.htm
University of Warwick. "Beer and fodder crop has been deteriorating for 6,000 years." ScienceDaily. www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/04/190408114010.htm (accessed July 21, 2023).

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