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Transgenic Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] for Crop Improvement

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Genetically Modified Crops

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Abstract

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is a nutritionally enriched member of the Poaceae family and sixth most important cereal crop. The crop is mostly cultivated throughout Asia, Africa, and South America. Finger millet is a rich source of minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and proteins as compared to other millets. The crop has a diverse gene pool with distinct features and genetic variations. It has several advantages of nutritional quality and quantity, health benefits, and abiotic and biotic stress adaptation over other cereals. Sustainable crop improvement is one of the critical tasks in the present-day plant breeding programs. Conventional methods of plant breeding have improved the crop yields, but have their limitations. In such a scenario, targeted and less time-consuming molecular marker-assisted breeding and genetic engineering-based tools and techniques are encouraged. In this chapter, we have discussed some of the transgenics developed in finger millet for crop improvement.

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Acknowledgments

The financial assistance by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and DST-PURSE is gratefully acknowledged. Authors are also grateful to Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science and Satara for financial support under DBT-STAR college scheme. Financial assistance to the faculty under self-funded project is acknowledged and also for providing facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, India

    Pankaj S. Mundada & Tukaram D. Nikam

  2. Department of Botany, Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara, Maharashtra, India

    Pankaj S. Mundada & Mahendra L. Ahire

  3. Department of Botany, Jaysingpur College, Jaysingpur, Maharashtra, India

    Suraj D. Umdale

  4. Department of Biotechnology, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

    S. Anil Kumar

Authors
  1. Pankaj S. Mundada
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  2. Suraj D. Umdale
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  3. Mahendra L. Ahire
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  4. S. Anil Kumar
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  5. Tukaram D. Nikam
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tukaram D. Nikam .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

    P. B. Kavi Kishor

  2. Department of Genetics, University of Delhi, Delhi, Delhi, India

    Manchikatla Venkat Rajam

  3. Department of Botany, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India

    T. Pullaiah

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Mundada, P.S., Umdale, S.D., Ahire, M.L., Kumar, S.A., Nikam, T.D. (2021). Transgenic Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] for Crop Improvement. In: Kavi Kishor, P.B., Rajam, M.V., Pullaiah, T. (eds) Genetically Modified Crops. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5897-9_4

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