Variable Pathogens of Millets

'Millets' are a group of small-seeded cereal and forage grasses that are used for f&, feed, and forage, They provide staple food for millions of people in arid and semi-arid tropical areas of the world, arrd some are also important in temperate wnes, T h e y are cultivated rnostl y in Asia, Africa, parts of Europe, and to a l i d t e d extent in the western hernisphere (primarily as forage), Grain from these crops is generally superior nutritionally to rice and wheat and has good storage qualities, Millets often provide the only cereal option for the rnarginal areas where they are g r o w - They are frequently short-term, warrn season (surnrner) crops, and individual species or varieties frequently possess some unusual characters for adaptation, e . g - tolerance to or escape from drought, high temperature, low soil fertility, and diseases or pests, or use, e - g - special foods or beverages- Common arrd scientific names of species generally considered to belong t o millets are given in Table 1

Sorghum Transformation and Expressions of Genes Related to Plant Defense

This study was attempted to develop transgenic sorghum plants and to analyze expression of thaumatin-like (TLP) gene in sorghum plants in response to greenbug feeding. Many molecular genetics techniques used in the study included extraction of plasmid DNA, PCR, RT-PCR, real-time PCR, southern blot, RNA isolation, reverse transcription and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Findings and Conclusions: Putatively transformed plants have been produced although they need to be confirmed. One of them was transformed with an antifungal gene, and the other was done with an antimicrobial gene. In addition, the other two lines were transformed with plasmids containing phloem-specific promoters. All of the putatively transformed plants should contain the GUS gene. Further experiments are needed to confirm that they are transgenic plants containing the genes of interest. In addition, the expression of the TLP gene in three different sorghum lines infested with greenbugs was analyzed using the real-time PCR method. The results indicated that the TLP expression was elevated in those plants in response to greenbug infestation, which may play a role in plant defense against the greenbug pest.Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Managemen