Dataset Information

Nutritional Security in Drylands: Fast-Track Intra-Population Genetic Improvement for Grain Iron and Zinc Densities in Pearl Millet.

ABSTRACT: Considering the pervasive malnutrition caused by micronutrients, particularly those arising from the deficiencies of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), the primary focus of research in pearl millet is on biofortifying the crop with these two minerals. Pearl millet is a highly cross-pollinated crop where open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrids are the two distinct cultivar types. In view of the severe deficiency of Fe and Zn in Asia and Africa where this crop is widely consumed, crop biofortification holds a key role in attenuating this crisis. The present study included three OPVs previously identified for high-Fe and Zn density to assess the magnitude of variability and test the effectiveness of intra-population improvement as a fast-track selection approach. Large variability among the S1 progenies was observed in all three OPVs, with the Fe varying from 31 to 143 mg kg-1 and Zn varying from 35 to 82 mg kg-1. Progeny selection was effective for Fe density in all three OPVs, with up to 21% selection response for Fe density, and up to 10% selection response in two OPVs for Zn density, for which selection was made as an associated trait. Selection for Fe density had no adverse effect on grain yield and other agronomic traits. These results suggest that effective selection for Fe density in OPVs and composites can be made for these micronutrients and selection for Fe density is highly associated with the improvement of Zn density as well. These genetic changes can be achieved without compromising on grain yield and agronomic traits. Such improved versions could serve as essentially-derived varieties for immediate cultivation and also serve as potential sources for the development of parental lines of hybrids with elevated levels of Fe and Zn density. Therefore, fast-track breeding is essential to produce biofortified breeding pipelines to address food-cum-nutritional security.

SUBMITTER: Govindaraj M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6543707 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Nutritional Security in Drylands: Fast-Track Intra-Population Genetic Improvement for Grain Iron and Zinc Densities in Pearl Millet.

Govindaraj Mahalingam M Rai Kedar Nath KN Kanatti Anand A Rao Aluri Sambasiva AS Shivade Harshad H

Frontiers in nutrition 20190524

Considering the pervasive malnutrition caused by micronutrients, particularly those arising from the deficiencies of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), the primary focus of research in pearl millet is on biofortifying the crop with these two minerals. Pearl millet is a highly cross-pollinated crop where open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrids are the two distinct cultivar types. In view of the severe deficiency of Fe and Zn in Asia and Africa where this crop is widely consumed, crop biofortification ...[more]

PMID: 31179283

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Project description:Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is the sixth most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, barley and sorghum. It is widely grown on 30 million ha in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa, accounting for almost half of the global millet production. Climate change affects crop production by directly influencing biophysical factors such as plant and animal growth along with the various areas associated with food processing and distribution. Assessment of the effects of global climate changes on agriculture can be helpful to anticipate and adapt farming to maximize the agricultural production more effectively. Pearl millet being a climate-resilient crop is important to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and has the potential to increase income and food security of farming communities in arid regions. Pearl millet has a deep root system and can survive in a wide range of ecological conditions under water scarcity. It has high photosynthetic efficiency with an excellent productivity and growth in low nutrient soil conditions and is less reliant on chemical fertilizers. These attributes have made it a crop of choice for cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions of the world; however, fewer efforts have been made to study the climate-resilient features of pearl millet in comparison to the other major cereals. Several hybrids and varieties of pearl millet were developed during the past 50 years in India by both the public and private sectors. Pearl millet is also nutritionally superior and rich in micronutrients such as iron and zinc and can mitigate malnutrition and hidden hunger. Inclusion of minimum standards for micronutrients-grain iron and zinc content in the cultivar release policy-is the first of its kind step taken in pearl millet anywhere in the world, which can lead toward enhanced food and nutritional security. The availability of high-quality whole-genome sequencing and re-sequencing information of several lines may aid genomic dissection of stress tolerance and provide a good opportunity to further exploit the nutritional and climate-resilient attributes of pearl millet. Hence, more efforts should be put into its genetic enhancement and improvement in inheritance to exploit it in a better way. Thus, pearl millet is the next-generation crop holding the potential of nutritional richness and the climate resilience and efforts must be targeted to develop nutritionally dense hybrids/varieties tolerant to drought using different omics approaches.

Project description:Micronutrient malnutrition, especially deficiency of two mineral elements, iron [Fe] and zinc [Zn] in the developing world needs urgent attention. Pearl millet is one of the best crops with many nutritional properties and is accessible to the poor. We report findings of the first attempt to mine favorable alleles for grain iron and zinc content through association mapping in pearl millet. An association mapping panel of 130 diverse lines was evaluated at Delhi, Jodhpur and Dharwad, representing all the three pearl millet growing agro-climatic zones of India, during 2014 and 2015. Wide range of variation was observed for grain iron (32.3-111.9 ppm) and zinc (26.6-73.7 ppm) content. Genotyping with 114 representative polymorphic SSRs revealed 0.35 mean gene diversity. STRUCTURE analysis revealed presence of three sub-populations which was further supported by Neighbor-Joining method of clustering and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). Marker-trait associations (MTAs) were analyzed with 267 markers (250 SSRs and 17 genic markers) in both general linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM), however, MTAs resulting from MLM were considered for more robustness of the associations. After appropriate Bonferroni correction, Xpsmp 2261 (13.34% R2-value), Xipes 0180 (R2-value of 11.40%) and Xipes 0096 (R2-value of 11.38%) were consistently associated with grain iron and zinc content for all the three locations. Favorable alleles and promising lines were identified for across and specific environments. PPMI 1102 had highest number (7) of favorable alleles, followed by four each for PPMFeZMP 199 and PPMI 708 for across the environment performance for both grain Fe and Zn content, while PPMI 1104 had alleles specific to Dharwad for grain Fe and Zn content. When compared with the reference genome Tift 23D2B1-P1-P5, Xpsmp 2261 amplicon was identified in intergenic region on pseudomolecule 5, while the other marker, Xipes 0810 was observed to be overlapping with aspartic proteinase (Asp) gene on pseudomolecule 3. Thus, this study can help in breeding new lines with enhanced micronutrient content using marker-assisted selection (MAS) in pearl millet leading to improved well-being especially for women and children.

Dataset Information

Nutritional Security in Drylands: Fast-Track Intra-Population Genetic Improvement for Grain Iron and Zinc Densities in Pearl Millet.

Publications

Nutritional Security in Drylands: Fast-Track Intra-Population Genetic Improvement for Grain Iron and Zinc Densities in Pearl Millet.

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