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Genome InsiderAuthor: JGI
Stories where genes and genomes are key to solving energy and environmental challenges. Hear diverse voices in science talk about their JGI-supported research to better understand and harness the superpowers encoded in plants, fungi, microalgae, environmental viruses, and bacteria to contribute to a more sustainable world. Language: en Genres: Earth Sciences, Nature, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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A Spectrum of Sorghum
Tuesday, 11 August, 2026
This year, the JGI helped a collaborative team produce a pangenome for Sorghum bicolor — a collection of many, many sorghum genome sequences. Lined up and analyzed consistently, these data let researchers compare and learn from a range of different versions of this plant. This opens the door to growing sorghum — and other crops — to more effectively produce biofuels and bioproducts. In the episode, Nadia Shakoor (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center) walks us through growing sorghum from around the world, and the automated phenotyping that made this project possible. John Lovell (HudsonAlpha) and Jeremy Schmutz (JGI, HudsonAlpha) fill in more details of why we’ve long needed a pangenome, and what allowed this project to happen. And keep an eye out for the next episode, which will focus on the analysis behind this project.Nature: A sorghum pangenome reference improves global crop trait discoveryPhytozome: SorghumPan, the Sorghum bicolor Pan-Genome ReferenceEpisode chapters:0:00 The remarkable range of Sorghum bicolor3:36 Why study sorghum5:06 Getting from the BTX623 reference to a pangenome 9:50 How this pangenome became possible 12:19 Nadia Shakoor’s JGI-supported CSP New Investigator projects 15:31 Sourcing sorghum lines from all over the world 19:20 Automated phenotyping with drone flyovers 21:40 Next questionsAnother episode on sorghum: Back to the Future! A Sorghum StoryA piece on the sorghum pangenome: A Sorghum Pangenome Opens More Doors to DiscoverySubmit your own proposal to work with the JGI: http://jointgeno.me/proposals Episode Transcript: https://jgi.doe.gov/user-science/podcasts/spectrum-sorghum Our contact info: jgi-comms at lbl dot govSound effects credit: Outdoor Suburb Summer.aif by timgormly -- -- License: Attribution 4.0
