Source: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY submitted to
PERENNIAL GRASS BREEDING FOR BIOENERGY, TURF, FORAGE, AND BIOPRODUCTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0226334
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 12, 2011
Project End Date
Jul 11, 2016
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001
Performing Department
Soil & Crop Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Food, water, and energy security are becoming the most pressing challenges for all governments and are linked by the strong competition for land and water use between agricultural, industrial, urban, and environmental sectors. Globally, increasing human populations and diminishing fossil fuel reserves reinforce the need for sustainable management of agricultural and natural resources (Tilman et al. 2001). Biorefining perennial grass biomass for multiple products provides an effective option for the renewable production of food, feed, fiber, fuel, and bioproducts. Perennial, warm-season grasses are: 1) among the highest biomass accumulating terrestrial plants (Heaton et al., 2004), 2) highly efficient in water & nutrient utilization (Samsom et al., 2005), 3) capable of erosion control, soil restoration, and carbon sequestration (Adler et al., 2007; Lal, 2008), 4) wildlife diversity refuges (Lemus and Lal, 2005), 5) amenable to conservation practices in low-input agricultural systems (Follett, 2001), and 6) comparatively well-adapted to the 1.1e9 acres of globally abandoned agricultural lands (Campbell et al., 2008). Research is needed to develop warm-season, perennial grasses with improved performance in established commodities (forages, turf), emerging markets (biofuels, bioproducts), and integrated biorefining platforms. Biotechnological tools are further needed to facilitate the identification, characterization, and incorporation of beneficial genetic factors into perennial grass breeding programs.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2011620108010%
2011629108010%
2012130108010%
2021620108010%
2021629108010%
2022130108010%
2042130104010%
2041620108110%
2041629108110%
5111629108110%
Knowledge Area
204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms; 202 - Plant Genetic Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
2130 - Turf; 1620 - Warm season perennial grasses; 1629 - Perennial grasses, other;

Field Of Science
1040 - Molecular biology; 1081 - Breeding; 1080 - Genetics;
Goals / Objectives
Objectives and expected output of the program include: 1) genetic improvement in the productivity and quality of perennial grasses as integrated biorefineries with targeted commodities including biofuels, turfgrasses, forages, ornamentals, phytoremediators, and renewable bioproducts, and 2) development of molecular tools to facilitate marker-assisted breeding of value-added traits in warm-season perennial grasses.
Project Methods
Complementary breeding methods (molecular, cytogenetic, classical) and stakeholder priorities (corporate, public, governmental) will be utilized to identify target perennial grass species and commodities of value. Strategies to improve perennial grass productivity will encompass a wide range of methodologies, including: a) germplasm collection, b) genetic diversity assessment, c) classical (qualitative and quantitative) genetics, d) cytogenetics, e) molecular genetics, f) wide hybridization, g) ploidy manipulation, h) mutagenesis, and i) integrated biorefinery platform development. Selection criteria will be specific for targeted commodities, with parallel selection in specific populations conducted in cases where a target species has potential for multiple end-uses. Specific focus will be placed on developing seeded-yet-sterile ideotypes, hybrid cultivars and inbred lines, and mutant populations. Molecular tool development will involve both selectable markers and candidate gene discovery. Comparative genomic data from well-characterized cereal crops (rice, maize, sorghum, etc.) will be mined for sequence-based marker (gSSRs, EST-SSRs, SNPs, etc.) development and candidate gene mapping. Novel markers and trait associations will be further developed for traits of interest. Selectable markers will be optimized and incorporated into breeding systems where economical and feasible. Mutant populations will be created towards reverse genetic efforts for value-added traits specific to perennial grasses. Results will be presented in peer reviewed journal publications, posters, and oral presentations at scientific conferences.

Progress 07/12/11 to 07/11/16

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum), pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), and kinggrass ('KG'; P. purpureum x P. glaucum), 3) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 4) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), and 5) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: continued chromosome doubling of S. propinquumand triploid, perennial sorghum hybrid development. Napiergrass, PMN, & KG development included manuscript development of cold-tolerance innapiergrass, novel S3 inbred napiergrass accessions (College Station, TX), and utilization of PMN- and KG-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Kleingrass development involved Year 2 yield trialsof a new kleingrass synthetic hybrid(College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX) for USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic populations. Turf improvement efforts included final selection and vegetative increase of novel, drought tolerantbermudagrass and seed production potential evaluations of St. Augustinegrass.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Burson, B.L., Renganayaki, K., Dowling, C.D., Hinze, L.L., Jessup, R.W. 2015. Genetic diversity among pentaploid buffelgrass accessions. Crop Science 55:16371645.


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Project activities were disseminated at three professional conferences (Agronomy Society of America Southern Branch Annual Conference, Texas A&M University Plant Breeding Symposium, Texas Seed Trade Association Annual Conference). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project related curricula included continued development of a dynamically updated website (http://work.recturf.operaunite.com/) for undergraduate classes of Recreational Turfgrass (SCSC 302) as well as initial offering of a graduate level 'Intellectual Property in the Plant Sciences' course (SCSC 640) with dynamically updated website (https://ipps.tonidoid.com/app/webshare/share/IPPS/index.html). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum), pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), and kinggrass ('KG'; P. purpureum x P. glaucum), 3) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 4) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), and 5) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: continued seed increase and development of manuscript draft for germplasm release of USDA-ARS (R. Klein, B. Burson) S. bicolor x S. propinquum F5 families selected for pureline cultivar evaluations and chromosome doubling of S. propinquum. Novel S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.) x S. propinquum (USDA-ARS; B. Burson) F1 and F2 populations evaluations were continued. Perennial forage Sorghum development included natural Sorghum spp. (S. halepense x S. bicolor) hybrids (initiation of manuscript draft development towards germplasm release). Napiergrass, PMN, & KG development included continued evaluation of novel F1 hybrids, novel S1 inbred napiergrass accessions (Commerce, TX; Vernon, TX), novel S2 inbred napiergrass accessions (College Station, TX), and identification of PMN- and KG-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Kleingrass development involved Years 1-4 sample assays of yield trials and Year 1 re-planting of new kleingrass yield trial (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX) for USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic populations. Turf improvement efforts included Year 3 drought tolerance evaluation and final elite selections of novel bermudagrass (2) and seed production potential of St. Augustinegrass (3).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Burson, B.L., Renganayaki, K., Dowling, C.D., Hinze, L.L., Jessup, R.W. 2015. Genetic diversity among pentaploid buffelgrass accessions. Crop Science (in press).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2015 Citation: Jessup, R.W., Burson, B.L., Renganayaki, K. 2015. A PCR-based method for quantifying sexual vs. apomictic reproduction in buffelgrass [Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link syn. Cenchrus ciliaris L.]. Australian Journal of Crop Science (in press).
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Jessup, R.W., Dowling, C.D. 2015. Seeded-Yet-Sterile perennial grasses: Towards sustainable and non-invasive biofuel feedstocks. p. 97-112. In L.Quinn, D. Matlaga, J. Barney (eds.) Bioenergy and biological invasions: Examining ecological, agronomic, and policy perspectives to minimize risk, CABI, New York, NY.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wilson, G.W., Baumann, P.A., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W. Evaluation of multiple herbicide groups on establishing Pearl Millet x Napiergrass hybrids. Southern Branch American Society of Agronomy Conference. 1-3 February 2015, Atlanta, GA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Watson, A., Burson, B.L., Tarpley, L., Jessup, R.W. Seed priming mitigates heat and drought stress during establishment in Pearl Millet x Napiergrass: Growth, yield, chlorophyll autofluorescence, and modeling. Southern Branch American Society of Agronomy Conference. 1-3 February 2015, Atlanta, GA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W., Heitholt, J., Malinowski, D., Mason, E. Characterization of overwintering genes in forage: biofuel napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.). Plant & Animal Genome Conference. 10-14 January 2015, San Diego CA.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Targeted audiences during the project reporting period include perennial grass commodity groups (biofuel, forage, turf), seed companies, researchers, plant breeders, and graduate/undergraduate students.Targeted audiences during the project reporting period include perennial grass commodity groups (biofuel, forage, turf), seed companies, researchers, plant breeders, and graduate/undergraduate students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Project related curricula included continued development of a dynamically updated website (http://work.recturf.operaunite.com/) for undergraduate classes of Recreational Turfgrass (SCSC 302) as well as initial offering of a graduate level ‘Intellectual Property in the Plant Sciences’ course (SCSC 689) with dynamically updated website (https://ipps.tonidoid.com/app/webshare/share/IPPS/index.html). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project activities were disseminated at two professional conferences (Dallas Turf Expo, Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum), pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), and kinggrass (‘KG’; P. purpureum x P. glaucum), 3) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 4) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), and 5) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: continued seed increase and evaluation of USDA-ARS (R. Klein, B. Burson) S. bicolor x S. propinquum F5 families selected for pureline cultivar evaluations, hybrid cultivar R-line compatibility with S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.), and chromosome doubling of S. bicolor x S. propinquum F1 hybrids. Novel S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.) x S. propinquum (USDA-ARS; B. Burson) F1 and F2 populations were evaluated. Perennial forage Sorghum development included natural Sorghum spp. (S. halepense x S. bicolor) hybrids (Years 1-3 yield trial data analyses [College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Commerce, TX] and rhizome seed propagule harvest yield determination). Napiergrass, PMN, & KG development included development and evaluation of novel F1 hybrids, evaluation of novel S1 inbred napiergrass accessions (Commerce, TX; Vernon, TX; Alma, AR), development of novel S2 inbred napiergrass accessions, Years 1-3 yield trial data analyses of novel PMN hybrids, continuation of commercial collaboration and field trial establishment, and identification of PMN- and KG-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Kleingrass development involved Year 4 continuation of yield trials and Year 1 planting of new kleingrass yield trial (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX) for USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic populations. Turf improvement efforts included Year 2 drought tolerance evaluation of novel bermudagrass (48) and seed production potential of St. Augustinegrass (7).

Publications

  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Jessup, R.W., Dowling, C.D. 2014. Seeded-Yet-Sterile perennial grasses: Towards sustainable and non-invasive biofuel feedstocks. In L.Quinn, D. Matlaga, J. Barney (eds.) Bioenergy and biological invasions: Examining ecological, agronomic, and policy perspectives to minimize risk, CABI, New York, NY
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Thomas, M.E., Foster, J.L., McCuistion, K.C., Duncan, R.W., Redmon, L.A., Franks, A.M., Jessup, R.W. 2014. Inoculants to enhance the ruminal degradation of small grain forage. Forage and Grazinglands (in press)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W. 2014. Marker-assisted verification of Kinggrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. x Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.). Plant Omics Journal 7(2): 72-79.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Jessup, R.W. New Developments in St. Augustinegrass. Turf, Landscape and Irrigation Expo. 16 May 2014, Dallas, TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W., Heitholt, J., Malinowski, D., Mason, E. Characterization of Candidate Overwintering Genes in Forage: Biofuel Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.). Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference. 5-8 October 2014, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.


Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Targeted audiences during the project reporting period include perennial grass commodity groups (biofuel, forage, turf), seed companies, researchers, plant breeders, and graduate/undergraduate students. Changes/Problems: What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Project related curricula included continued development of a dynamically updated website (http://work.recturf.operaunite.com/) for undergraduate classes of Recreational Turfgrass (SCSC 302) as well as development of a graduate level ‘Intellectual Property in the Plant Sciences’ course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project activities were disseminated at three professional conferences (Southern Branch Agronomy Society of America, Southern Pasture & Forage Crop Improvement Conference, and the National Plant Breeder’s Conference). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum), pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), and kinggrass (‘KG’; P. purpureum x P. glaucum), 3) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 4) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), 5) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum), 6) turf buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), 7) turf blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), and turf curly mesquite (Hilaria belangeri). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: seed increase of USDA-ARS (R. Klein, B. Burson) S. bicolor x S. propinquum F5 families selected for pureline cultivar evaluations, hybrid cultivar R-line compatibility with S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.), and attempted chromosome doubling of S. bicolor x S. propinquum F1 hybrids. Novel S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.) x S. propinquum (USDA-ARS; B. Burson) F2 populations were evaluated. Perennial forage Sorghum developoment included natural Sorghum spp. (S. halepense x S. bicolor) hybrids (Year 3 yield trial continuation [College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Commerce, TX]). Napiergrass, PMN, & KG development included development and evaluation of novel hybrids, evaluation of novel inbred napiergrass accessions, Year 3 yield trial continuation (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Beaumont, TX) of novel PMN hybrids, continuation of commercial collaboration and field trial establishment, and identification of PMN- and KG-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Kleingrass development involved Year 3 continuation of yield trials (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX) for a USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic population and selection and seed increase of a novel synthetic population. Turf improvement efforts included drought tolerance evaluation of novel bermudagrass (48), seed production potential of St. Augustinegrass (7), and seed priming potential in buffalograss, curly mesquite, and blue grama.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jessup, R.W. 2013. Seeded-Yet-Sterile Perennial Biofuel Feedstocks. Adv. Crop Sci. Tech. 1(2): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/acst.1000e102.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Foster, J.L., Tarpley, L., Jessup, R.W. 2013. Confirmation of Pearl Millet-Napiergrass Hybrids Using EST-derived Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers. American Journal of Plant Sciences 4: 1004-1012. DOI:10.4236/ajps.2013.45124.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Washburn J.D., Whitmire D.K., Murray S.C., Burson B.L., Wickersham T.A., Heitholt J.J., Jessup R.W. 2013. Estimation of rhizome composition and overwintering ability in perennial Sorghum spp. using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). Bioenerg. Res. DOI 10.1007/s12155-013-9305-8.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Washburn, J.D., Murray, S.C., Burson, B.L., Klein, R.R., Jessup, R.W. 2013. Targeted mapping of QTL regions for rhizomatousness in chromosome SBI-01 and analysis of overwintering in a Sorghum bicolor x S. propinquum population. Molecular Breeding. Mol Breeding 31: 153-162. DOI: 10.1007/s11032-012-9778-8.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jessup, R.W. 2013. Perennial Grass Breeding Program. SASES Regional Meeting. College Station, TX, March 2, 2013.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jessup, R.W., Burson, B.L., Foster, J.L., Heitholt, J.J. 2013. Evaluation of a non-flowering, perennial Sorghum spp. hybrid. Poster presented at the Southern Pasture & Forage Crop Improvement Conference, 22-24 April 2013, Overton, TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Wilson, G.B., Burson, B.L., Dowling, C.D., Jessup, R.W. 2013. Induced chromosome doubling of Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum propinquum hybrids. Poster presented at the Southern Pasture & Forage Crop Improvement Conference, 22-24 April 2013, Overton, TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Dowling, C.D., Jessup, R.W., Burson, B.L. 2013. Characterization and introgression of cold-tolerence in Napiergrass: towards expansion of feedstock production potential. Poster presented at the National Plant Breeders Conference, 3-5 June 2013, Tampa, FL.


Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) & pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), 3) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 4) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), 5) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum), 6) turf buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), and 7) turf blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: advancement of USDA-ARS (R. Klein, B. Burson) S. bicolor x S. propinquum F4 families and selection of F5 families for pureline cultivar evaluations, hybrid cultivar R-line compatibility with S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.), and high-resolution genetic mapping of perenniality. Novel S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.) x S. propinquum (USDA-ARS; B. Burson) hybidizations were evaluated. Perennial forage Sorghum developoment included natural Sorghum spp. (S. halepense x S. bicolor) hybrids (Year 2 yield trial continuation [College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Commerce, TX]). Napiergrass & PMN development included development and evaluation of novel napiergrass and PMN hybrids, development of novel inbred napiergrass accessions, Year 2 yield trial continuation (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Beaumont, TX) of novel PMN hybrids, initiation of commercial collaboration and field trial establishment, and identification of napiergrass-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Kleingrass development involved Year 2 continuation of yield trials (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX; San Angelo, TX) for a USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic population. Turf improvement efforts included selection and advancement of novel bermudagrass (15), St. Augustinegrass (21), buffalograss (2), and blue grama (2) accessions for drought and salinity tolerance. Project activities were disseminated at three professional conferences (Southern Seed Association Convention, Texas Plant Protection Conference, and the Symposium on Strategic Management of Pasture). Project related curricula included graduation of two M.S. Plant Breeding graduate students, as well as continued development of a dynamically updated website (http://work.recturf.operaunite.com/) for undergraduate classes of Recreational Turfgrass (SCSC 302). PARTICIPANTS: PROJECT: Texas A&M AgriLife (College Station, TX): R. Jessup (P.I.), graduate students (C. Dowling, napiergrass & PMN; J. Washburn, perennial sorghum), & undergraduate student workers (Z. Farrow, E. Fortenberry, Jordan Haralson, David Norris, Clint Medlen, Aurelie Collee, Gregory Wilson, Morgan Carlson). COLLABORATORS: Texas A&M Agrilife (College Station, TX): S. Murray (perennial sorghum), R. White (turfgrasses), Texas A&M AgriLife (Beeville, TX): J. Foster (perennial sorghum, napiergrass, PMN, kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (Beaumont, TX): L. Tarpley (napiergrass, PMN, perennial sorghum). Texas A&M AgriLife (Stephenville, TX): J. Muir (kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (San Angelo, TX): D. Drake (kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (Dallas, TX): A. Chandra, D. Genovesi (turfgrasses). Texas A&M Commerce (Commerce, TX): J. Heitholt (perennial sorghum, napiergrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (Overton, TX): G. Smith (napiergrass, PMN). USDA-ARS/SPARC (College Station, TX): B. Burson, R. Klein. The Land Institute (Salina, KS): S. Cox. TARGET AUDIENCES: Targeted audiences during the project reporting period include perennial grass commodity groups (biofuel, forage, turf), seed companies, researchers, plant breeders, and graduate/undergraduate students. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Project outcomes for the reporting period included identification and publication of QTLs for perennialism in sorghum, species-specific markers in sorghum spp. hybrids, accession ploidy levels for a buffelgrass germplasm collection, and advancement of plant materials across project breeding pipelines.

Publications

  • Jessup, R.W., Whitmire, D.K., Burson, B.L. 2012. Molecular characterization of non-flowering perennial Sorghum spp. hybrids. American Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 2(1):9-20.
  • Burson, B.L., Actkinson, J., Jessup, R.W., Hussey, M.A. 2012. Ploidy determination of buffel grass accessions in the USDA National Plant Germplasm System collection by flow cytometry. South African Journal of Botany. 79:91-95.
  • Jessup, R.W. 2012. Perennialism and weediness in the Saccharinae. p. 503-515. In A.H. Paterson (ed.) Genomics of the Saccharineae, Springer, New York, NY.
  • Washburn, J.D., Murray, S.C., Burson, B.L., Klein, R.R., Jessup, R.W. 2012. Targeted mapping of QTL regions for rhizomatousness in chromosome SBI-01 and analysis of overwintering in a Sorghum bicolor x S. propinquum population. Molecular Breeding. DOI: 10.1007/s11032-012-9778-8.
  • Jessup, R.W. 2012. Forages for bioenergy production. Page 239 to 248 in Proc. 6th SIMFOR Annual Meeting. Vicosa MG, Brazil.
  • Jessup, R.W. 2012. Perennial Grass Breeding. Oral presentation at the 93rd Southern Seed Association Annual Convention, 14-17 January 2012, Fort Worth, TX.
  • Jessup, R.W. 2012. Forages for Bioenergy Production. Oral presentation at the joint 4th International Symposium on Animal Production under Grazing and 6th Symposium on Strategic Management of Pasture, 15-17 November 2012, Vicosa, MG, Brazil.
  • Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W. 2012. Novel Seeded-yet-Sterile Feedstocks: Kinggrass & Pearl Millet-Napiergrass. Poster presentation at the Texas Plant Protection Conference, 4-6 December 2012, College Station, TX.


Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Project outputs for the reporting period encompassed: 1) perennial biofuel/forage Sorghum (S. bicolor x S. propinquum; S. bicolor x S. halepense), 2) biofuel/forage napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) & pearl millet-napiergrass ('PMN'; P. glaucum x P. purpureum), 3) biofuel Miscanthus (M. sinensis), 4) forage kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), 5) turf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), 6) turf St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphum secundatum), 7) turf buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), and 8) turf blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). Perennial biofuel Sorghum development included: advancement of USDA-ARS (R. Klein, B. Burson) S. bicolor x S. propinquum F3 families and selection of F4 families for pureline cultivar evaluations, hybrid cultivar R-line compatibility with S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.), and high-resolution genetic mapping of perenniality. Novel S. bicolor (Tx3361, etc.) x S. propinquum (USDA-ARS; B. Burson) hybidizations were also initiated. Perennial forage Sorghum developoment included natural Sorghum spp. (S. halepense x S. bicolor) hybrids (collection, cytogenetic characterization, and yield trial initiation [College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Commerce, TX]) and advancement of The Land Institute (S. Cox) S. bicolor x S. halepense F2 families to F4 families. Napiergrass & PMN development included collection of six novel napiergrass accessions, evaluation of parental napiergrass and pearl millet accessions, production and yield trial initiation (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Beaumont, TX) of novel PMN hybrids, and investigations of genetic diversity and species-specific markers utilizing EST-SSR markers. Miscanthus development included collection of vegetative (4) and seed collections (10) of naturalized M. sinensis populations across the southern United States, as well as attempted wide-hybridization with S. bicolor (Tx3361). Kleingrass development involved establishment of yield trials (College Station, TX; Beeville, TX; Stephenville, TX; San Angelo, TX) for a USDA-ARS (B. Burson)/Texas A&M AgriLife advanced synthetic population. Turf improvement efforts included collection and evaluation of novel bermudagrass (30), St. Augustinegrass (192), buffalograss (13), and blue grama (15) accessions for drought and salinity tolerance, in addition to characterization of genetic diversity in bermudagrass and St. Augustinegrass utilizing EST-SSR markers. Project activities were disseminated at four professional conferences (National Plant Breeder's Conference, Interdisciplinary Plant Group Symposium, Turf Producer's of Texas Annual Meeting, Agronomy Society of America Annual Meetings) and the Texas A&M AgriLife Beaumont Center field day events. Project related curricula included graduation of two M.S. Plant Breeding graduate students, as well as development of a dynamically updated website (http://work.recturf.operaunite.com/) for undergraduate classes of Recreational Turfgrass (SCSC 302). PARTICIPANTS: PROJECT: Texas A&M AgriLife (College Station, TX): R. Jessup (P.I.), graduate students (K. Whitmire, perennial sorghum; C. Dowling, napiergrass & PMN; J. Washburn, perennial sorghum), & undergraduate student workers (Z. Farrow, E. Fortenberry, C. Spanel-Webber). COLLABORATORS: Texas A&M Agrilife (College Station, TX): S. Murray (perennial sorghum), R. White (turfgrasses), Texas A&M AgriLife (Beeville, TX): J. Foster (perennial sorghum, napiergrass, PMN, kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (Beaumont, TX): L. Tarpley (napiergrass, PMN). Texas A&M AgriLife (Stephenville, TX): J. Muir (kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (San Angelo, TX): D. Drake (kleingrass). Texas A&M AgriLife (Dallas, TX): A. Chandra, D. Genovesi (turfgrasses). Texas A&M Commerce (Commerce, TX): J. Heitholt (perennial sorghum). Texas A&M AgriLife (Overton, TX): G. Smith (napiergrass, PMN). USDA-ARS/SPARC (College Station, TX): B. Burson, R. Klein. The Land Institute (Salina, KS): S. Cox. TARGET AUDIENCES: Targeted audiences during the project reporting period include perennial grass commodity groups (biofuel, forage, turf), seed companies, researchers, plant breeders, and graduate/undergraduate students. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Project outcomes for the reporting period included identification and publication of EST-SSR molecular markers for fall armyworm resistance in turfgrass, as well as discovery of novel sterility systems in napiergrass with utility in wide-hybridization programs.

Publications

  • Jessup, R.W. 2011. Development and status of dedicated energy crops in the United States. p. 97-112. In D. Tomes, P. Lakshmanan, D. Songstad (eds.) Biofuels, Springer, New York, NY.
  • Jessup, R.W., Renganayaki, K., Burson, B.L., Howard, A.N., Giliberto, B., Engelke, M.C., Genovesi, A.D., Reinert, J.A., Kamps, T.L., Schulze, S., Paterson, A.H. 2011. Genetic mapping of fall armyworm resistance in zoysiagrass. Crop Sci. 51 (4): 1774-1783. doi:10.2135/cropsci2010.09.0553.
  • Jessup, R.W. 2011. Identifying your turfgrass varieties. Oral presentation at the Turfgrass Producers of Texas Annual Conference, 18 January 2011, Baytown, TX.
  • Jessup, R.W., Whitmire, D.K., Burson, B.L., Foster, J.L., Heitholt, J.J. 2011. Non-Flowering Sorghum spp. Hybrids: Perennial, Sterile, High-Biomass Feedstocks. Poster presentation at the Agronomy Society of America Annual Meetings, 16-19 October, 2011, San Antonio, TX.
  • Washburn, J.D., Murray, S.C., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W. 2011. Dissecting the Genetics of Rhizomatousness: Towards Sustainable Food, Forage, and Bioenergy. Poster presentation at the Agronomy Society of America Annual Meetings, 16-19 October, 2011, San Antonio, TX.
  • Dowling, C.D., Burson, B.L., Foster, J.L., King, S.R., Jessup, R.W. 2011. 'Seeded-yet-Sterile' Biomass Feedstocks: Kinggrass & Pearl Millet-Napiergrass. Poster presentation at the Agronomy Society of America Annual Meetings, 16-19 October, 2011, San Antonio, TX.
  • Dowling, C.D., Jessup, R.W. 2011. Interspecific Hybridization of Pennisetum Species as a Dual Use Biomass Feedstock. Poster presentation at the National Plant Breeder's Conference, 22-25 May, 2011, College Station, TX.
  • Washburn, J.D., Murray, S.C., Burson, B.L., Jessup, R.W. 2011. Dissecting the Genetics of Rhizomatousness: Towards Sustainable Food, Forage, and Bioenergy. Poster presentation at the Interdisciplinary Plant Group Symposium, 25-27 May, 2011, Columbia, MO.