A global view of genetic diversity in cultivated sorghums using a core collection

We report here an analysis of the structure of genetic diversity in cultivated sorghums. A core collection of 210 landraces representative of race, latitude of origin, response to day length, and production system was analysed with 74 RFLP probes dispersed throughout the genome. Multivariate analyses showed the specificity of the subrace guinea margaritiferum, as well as the geographical and racial pattern of genetic diversity. Neighbour-joining analysis revealed a clear differentiation between northern and southern equatorial African accessions. The presence of Asian accessions in these 2 major geographical poles for sorghum evolution indicated two introductions of sorghum into Asia. Morphological race also influenced the pattern of sorghum genetic diversity. A single predominant race was identified in 8 of 10 clusters of accessions, i.e., 1 kafir, 1 durra, 4 guinea, and 2 caudatum clusters. Guinea sorghums, with the exception of accessions in the margaritiferum subrace, clustered in 3 geographical groups, i.e., western African, southern African, and Asian guinea clusters; the latter two appeared more closely related. Caudatum were mainly distributed in 2 clusters, the African Great Lakes caudatum cluster and those African caudatum originating from other African regions. This last differentiation appears related to contrasting photoperiod responses. These results aid in the optimization of sampling accessions for introgression in breeding programs.