Mutation in sorghum LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 alters strigolactones and causes Striga resistance

Strigolactones are both hormones that control shoot architecture and signals that promote interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and promote germination of detrimental parasitic weeds such as Striga asiatica and Striga hermonthica. Gobena et al. mapped and cloned a sorghum gene, LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 (LGS1), previously identified as conferring less stimulation of germination in Striga. LGS1 encodes a sulfotransferase, and plants carrying the mutant allele show an altered strigolactone profile. Specifically, they produce less 5-deoxystrigol and more orobanchol. Orobanchol performs SL hormone functions and promotes colonization by AM fungi, but does not stimulate Striga germination. These insights can provide a new approach to combat the devastating effects of Striga on crop productivity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 10.1073/pnas.1618965114