Discovery of sorghum gene that controls bird feeding could help protect crops

A single gene in sorghum controls bird feeding behavior by simultaneously regulating the production of bad-tasting molecules and attractive volatiles.

This gene, called Tannin1, controls the synthesis of bird-deterring astringent polyphenols called tannins, as well as bird-attracting fatty-acid-derived volatile organic compounds.

The authors suggest that the findings could lead to novel control strategies to protect major cereal crops worldwide. "We discovered the molecular mechanism controlling bird feeding behavior on sorghum seeds," says co-senior study author Qi Xie of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Beyond illustrating an example of how a field observation led to characterization of an ecologically impactful molecular mechanism, our study reveals new insights about the chemistry of bird-plant ecological interactions and suggests multiple strategies for developing new chemical- and genetic-based control measures to prevent the catastrophic yield losses caused by birds each year."

Sorghum is a major global cereal crop that is a steady source of calories for more than 500 million people worldwide and is also an important source of biofuels. Sorghum yield losses caused by birds have been reported to reach as high as 52%.