Fonio millet genome unlocks African orphan crop diversity for agriculture in a changing climate

0532928 - ÚEB 2021 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Abrouk, M. - Ahmed, H. I. - Cubry, P. - Šimoníková, Denisa - Cauet, S. - Pailles, Y. - Bettgenhaeuser, J. - Gapa, L. - Scarcelli, N. - Couderc, M. - Zekraoui, L. - Kathiresan, N. - Čížková, Jana - Hřibová, Eva - Doležel, Jaroslav - Arribat, S. - Bergès, H. - Wieringa, J. J. - Gueye, M. - Kane, N. A. - Leclerc, C. - Causse, S. - Vancoppenolle, S. - Billot, C. - Wicker, T. - Vigouroux, A. - Barnaud, A. - Krattinger, S.G.
Fonio millet genome unlocks African orphan crop diversity for agriculture in a changing climate.
Nature Communications. Roč. 11, č. 1 (2020), č. článku 4488. E-ISSN 2041-1723
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EF16_019/0000827
Institutional support: RVO:61389030
Keywords : climate change * crop plant * dryland farming
OECD category: Biochemistry and molecular biology
Impact factor: 14.919, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18329-4

Sustainable food production in the context of climate change necessitates diversification of agriculture and a more efficient utilization of plant genetic resources. Fonio millet (Digitaria exilis) is an orphan African cereal crop with a great potential for dryland agriculture. Here, we establish high-quality genomic resources to facilitate fonio improvement through molecular breeding. These include a chromosome-scale reference assembly and deep re-sequencing of 183 cultivated and wild Digitaria accessions, enabling insights into genetic diversity, population structure, and domestication. Fonio diversity is shaped by climatic, geographic, and ethnolinguistic factors. Two genes associated with seed size and shattering showed signatures of selection. Most known domestication genes from other cereal models however have not experienced strong selection in fonio, providing direct targets to rapidly improve this crop for agriculture in hot and dry environments.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0311307