A new publication is now online in Plant Physiology titled: "Towards 'smart canopy' sorghum: discovery of the genetic control of leaf angle across layers."

This research conducted by RFBCPB member Maria Salas-Fernandez and her former graduate student Maria B. Mantilla-Perez, in collaboration with P. Schnable, L. Tang and Y. Bao, had dissected the genetic architecture of leaf angle at different levels of the sorghum canopy. This study will facilitate the optimization of leaf arrangement throughout the sorghum plant to increase conversion efficiency, and thus, photosynthetic capacity. This study also characterized the expression profiles of the genes Dw3 and BZR1/BES1, showing a correlation with leaf angle changes across layers. The response to a brassinosteroid inhibitor (Propiconazole) was also evaluated and proved to generate overall reductions in leaf angle but also a differential effect on leaves at middle canopy layers.