DISSECTING THE GENETICS OF CAROTENOID SYNTHESIS, STORAGE, AND BIOACCESSIBILITY TO IMPROVE THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF SORGHUM

The specific goal of this proposed research is to independently identify the genetic factors underlying sorghum grain carotenoid synthesis, storage, and bioavailability in order to inform breeding efforts aimed at increasing not only carotenoid content, but also potential impact to consumers by facilitating breeding of products with improved nutrient density and delivery characteristics. Specific objectives towards this goal are to:Determine genotype-by-environment (GxE) interactions that impact sorghum grain carotenoid content and accumulation,Characterize the genetic architecture of sorghum grain carotenoid content and bioaccessibility,Identify genes and pathways differentially expressed in sorghum genotypes with different levels of grain carotenoid content and bioaccessibility during grain development.