Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Improvement: Current Status and Future Interventions of Whole Genome Sequence

Abstract

The whole genome sequence (WGS) of the much awaited, nutrient rich and climate resilient crop, finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) has been released recently. While possessing superior mineral nutrients and excellent shelf life as compared to other major cereals, multiploidy nature of the genome and relatively small plantation acreage in less developed countries hampered the genome sequencing of finger millet, disposing it as one of the lastly sequenced genomes in cereals. The genomic information available for this crop is very little when compared to other major cereals like rice, maize and barley. As a result, only a limited number of genetic and genomic studies has been undertaken for the improvement of this crop. Finger millet is known especially for its superior calcium content, but the high-throughput studies are yet to be performed to understand the mechanisms behind calcium transport and grain filling. The WGS of finger millet is expected to help to understand this and other important molecular mechanisms in finger millet, which may be harnessed for the nutrient fortification of other cereals. In this review, we discuss various efforts made so far on the improvement of finger millet including genetic improvement, transcriptome analysis, mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits, etc. We also discuss the pitfalls of modern genetic studies and provide insights for accelerating the finger millet improvement with the interventions of WGS in near future. Advanced genetic and genomic studies aided by WGS may help to improve the finger millet, which will be helpful to strengthen the nutritional security in addition to food security in the developing countries of Asia and Africa.

Nutrients in finger millet and soil at different elevation gradients in Central Nepal

“…(Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.)]-play a major role in human energy intake (Cakmak and Kutman 2018)and food security (Ceasar et al 2018); however, crops like finger millet have nutritional properties superior to these crops that can boost nutritional security (Puranik et al 2017) in developing countries like Nepal. Africa and Asia produce about 55% and 42%, respectively, of the world's finger millet (Bhagavatula et al 2013).…”

“…The finger millet grain is rich in protein, calcium, dietary fiber, and minerals (FAO 1991;Mbithi et al 2000;Obilana and Manyasa 2002;FAO 2005;Dayakar et al 2016;Wafula et al 2018), playing crucial role of providing food and nutrition in its growing regions (Saleh et al 2013). Finger millet grain contains higher calcium (Ca) [0.34%] (Gupta et al 2017;Ceasar et al 2018), iron (Fe) (Kumar et al 2016) and protein (Sharma et al 2017) than other major food crops such as rice, wheat and maize. Different literatures revealed the nutritional value of finger millet growing in India (Arjun et al 2014;Upadhyaya et al 2011;Singh and Srivastava 2006), Ethiopia (Admassu et al 2009), and in Kenya (Wafula et al 2018); however, to our knowledge, no nutritional analysis has been done on finger millet landraces along the elevation gradient in Nepal.…”

Breeding Strategies and Challenges in the Improvement of Blast Disease Resistance in Finger Millet. A Current Review

“…However, this reality is rapidly evolving as the cost of technologies decreases, leading to an exponential decline in the cost of the generation of new knowledge. A vast reservoir of more than 28,041 finger millet germplasm is available in various institutions worldwide for genetic and breeding research (Ceasar et al, 2018). The long-awaited whole-genome sequence and annotation will trigger much higher-resolution research on functional genomics, proteomics, comparative genomics and forward and reverse genetics to unravel the molecular mechanisms mediating major agronomic traits, such as yield, grain quality, abiotic stress tolerance, and pest and disease resistance.…”

Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn]: An Orphan Crop With a Potential to Alleviate the Calcium Deficiency in the Semi-arid Tropics of Asia and Africa

“…Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is a nutrient rich crop. Finger millet is being used as food (grains) in developing countries and as animal feed (straw) in developed countries indicating that it is considered as a poor man's food (Ceasar et al, 2018;Wambi et al, 2020). It is a major crop in the arid and semiarid regions of developing countries of Asia and Africa (Ceasar et al, 2018;Krishna et al, 2018Krishna et al, , 2020.…”

“…Finger millet is being used as food (grains) in developing countries and as animal feed (straw) in developed countries indicating that it is considered as a poor man's food (Ceasar et al, 2018;Wambi et al, 2020). It is a major crop in the arid and semiarid regions of developing countries of Asia and Africa (Ceasar et al, 2018;Krishna et al, 2018Krishna et al, , 2020. Among the various millets, finger millet ranks fourth on a global scale of production next to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet [Cenchrus americanus (new name), Pennisetum glaucum (old name)] and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) (Upadhyaya et al, 2007;Maharajan et al, 2019).…”