Sugarcane Genomics: From Genes to Traits for an Energy Grass

Sugarcane is an important model for studies of source-sink relations due to its ability to store high concentrations of sucrose in the culms. The main objective of this study is to understand the behaviour of physiological processes, such as photosynthesis and yield, in high brix genotypes. Through the evaluation of the transcriptome associated to sucrose content we have defined signal transduction components that might have a role in the process. We identified regulatory pathways associated with the activation or deactivation of photosynthesis and sucrose accumulation that were targeted in the generation of transgenic plants and in search for molecular markers useful for the selection processes. Also, we are obtaining data on sugarcane promoters by sequencing the sugarcane genome and ChIP-Seq samples. Data from different sources are being integrated (http://sucest-fun.org) to exploit the sugarcane genome and functional data to allow for a Systems Biology approach in this crop. Supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, FAPESP and CNPq.