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Mining Genes and Markers Across Minor Millets Using Comparative Genomics Approaches

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Omics of Climate Resilient Small Millets

Abstract

Nutritionally important cereals of small millets are used as food crop for poor people around the world. They are mainly cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of Asian and African countries. Despite the nutritional benefits, small millets remain an underutilized crop and have received very little attention from researchers as well as farmers around the world. In the last few decades, very little research efforts have been made to study the features of small millets. More concentrated research efforts are needed to characterize germplasm resources, developing mapping population and identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) or genes which may help to improve the growth and production of small millets under biotic and abiotic stresses. The annotated genome sequences are currently available for foxtail millet and finger millet. Draft genome sequences are also available for proso millet and barnyard millet. The availability of whole and draft genome sequences of these millets can be used for further studies, such as SNP identification, next-generation sequencing-based allele discovery, association and linkage map construction, identification of candidate genes for agronomically important traits, and marker-assisted breeding programs. Two millets (little millet and kodo millet) have no genome sequences. Research is needed in the future to develop genome sequence for these two millets to improve the growth and production. In this chapter, we discuss about the details on genome sequences of small millets, how to mine genes from draft genome sequence of millets with finger millet as example, and comparative genomic studies of small millets. This chapter will help understand the current progress of research work related to comparative genomics approaches and mining genes across small millets.

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Abbreviations

CISP:

Conserved intron scanning primer

EST-SSR:

Expressed sequences tags-simple sequence repeat

PHT1:

Phosphate transporter 1

QTL:

Quantitative trait loci

SSR:

Simple sequence repeat

ZIP:

Zinc-regulated, iron-regulated transporter-like proteins

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kalamassery, Cochin, Kerala, India

    Theivanayagam Maharajan, Stanislaus Antony Ceasar & Thumadath Palayullaparambil Ajeesh Krishna

  2. Xavier Research Foundation, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India

    Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu

Authors
  1. Theivanayagam Maharajan
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  2. Stanislaus Antony Ceasar
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  3. Thumadath Palayullaparambil Ajeesh Krishna
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  4. Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Nanotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

    Ramesh Namdeo Pudake

  2. ICAR - National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi, India

    Amolkumar U. Solanke

  3. ICAR - National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi, India

    Amitha Mithra Sevanthi

  4. ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (ICAR-IIMR), Hyderabad, India

    P. Rajendrakumar

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Maharajan, T., Ceasar, S.A., Krishna, T.P.A., Ignacimuthu, S. (2022). Mining Genes and Markers Across Minor Millets Using Comparative Genomics Approaches. In: Pudake, R.N., Solanke, A.U., Sevanthi, A.M., Rajendrakumar, P. (eds) Omics of Climate Resilient Small Millets. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3907-5_9

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