Brown-top millet: an overview of breeding, genetic, and genomic resources development for crop improvement.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Brown-top millet is a lesser-known millet with a high grain nutrient value, early maturation, and drought tolerance that needs basic research to understand and conserve food security. Brown-top millet [Urochloa ramosa (L.)] is currently cultivated in some developing countries (especially in India) for food and fodder, although it is less known among the small millets. Like other millets, it contains macro- and micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fiber, all of which have rich health benefits. The nutritional importance and health benefits of brown-top millet are still unknown to many people due to a lack of awareness, wide cultivation, and research. Hence, this millet is currently overshadowed by other major cereals. This review article aims to present the nutritional, breeding, genetic, and genomic resources of brown-top millet to inform millet and other plant researchers. It is important to note that genetic and genomic resources have not yet been created for this millet. To date, there are no genomic and transcriptomic resources for brown-top millet to develop single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and insertion/Deletions (InDels) for breeding studies. Furthermore, studies regarding nutritional significance and health benefits are required to investigate the exact nutritional contents and health benefits of the brown-top millet. The present review delves into the nutritional value and health advantages of brown-top millet, as supported by the available literature. The limitations of producing brown-top millet have been enumerated. We also cover the status of marker-assisted breeding and functional genomics research on closely related species. Lastly, we draw insights for further research such as developing omics resources and applying genome editing to study and improve brown-top millet. This review will help to start breeding and other molecular studies to increase the growth and development of this cereal.

Consequence of cyclic pollen selection for heat tolerance on the performance of different generations in maize (Zea mays L.).

The reproductive stage in many crops, including maize, is very sensitive to heat stress and the genetic overlap between gametophytic and sporophytic phase gives an opportunity to select superior stress tolerant genotype at gametophytic stage. An attempt was made to evaluate the response of cyclic pollen selection in the F1 and F2 generations on the performance of F3 generation progenies for seed yield and yield contributing traits under natural heat stress conditions. In this direction three groups of F3 progenies, namely (i) pollen selection in F1 and F2 generations (GG), (ii) pollen selection only in F2 generation (CG), (iii) no pollen selection in F1 and F2 generations (CC) were screened for heat stress at Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Bheemarayanagudi. The GG progenies recorded significantly higher chlorophyll content, more number of pollen grains per anther and less pollen sterility compared to CG and CC group of progenies under heat stress. Further, the F4 progenies obtained through cyclic pollen selection (in F1, F2 and F3) were also tested for heat stress tolerance at seedling stage. The significant improvement for heat stress tolerance was recorded in F4 progenies derived through cyclic pollen selection as compared to control (no pollen selection for heat tolerance in any generation) F4 progenies. The results indicated that cyclic pollen selection in F1, F2 and F3 generations improved the heat stress tolerance of the progenies in the succeeding generations. To provide genetic evidence for the effect of pollen selection for heat tolerance, the control F2 (C) and selected F2 (G) populations were compared for the segregation of SSR markers. The selected F2 (G) population showed significant deviation from normal Mendelian ratio of 1:2:1 and showed skewness towards the alleles selected from male parent. The results provide strong evidence for an increase in the frequency of parental alleles in the progenies that impart heat stress tolerance.

Development of molecular map and identification of QTLs linked to Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea.

A number of genetic maps for Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea have been reported in earlier studies, however QTLs identified for Fusarium wilt resistance were unstable. Hence, the present study aims to map novel molecular markers and to identify QTLs for Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea. An intraspecific linkage map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) was constructed using F10-F11 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between K850 and WR315 segregating for H2 locus. A set of 31 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers obtained by screening 300 SSRs and were used for genotyping. The linkage map had four linkage groups and coverage of 690 cM with a marker density of 5.72 cM. The RILs were screened for their wilt reaction across two seasons in wilt sick plot at International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, India. Five major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected in both seasons for late wilting (60 days after sowing). A stable QTL (GSSR 18-TC14801) for wilt resistance was identified in both the seasons, and the QTL explained a variance of 69.80 and 60.80% in 2007 and 2008 rabi respectively.

Genetic evidence for gametophytic selection of wilt resistant alleles in chickpea.

Gametophytic selection can drastically reduce the number of selection cycles during crop improvement programs. The objective of the present investigation was to test whether the nature of inheritance of two unlinked disease-resistant loci, h(1) and h(2), against Fusarium wilt in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under gametophytic (pollen) selection was similar to that already observed at sporophytic level. A homozygous dominant (H(1)H(1)H(2)H(2)) susceptible genotype JG-62 was crossed to a recessive (h(1)h(1)h(2)h(2)) resistant genotype WR-315 to produce 20 F(1) hybrid seeds. In the following generation, flower buds of 10 F(1) hybrid plants were subjected to toxin stress before anthesis and the remaining ten control F(1) plants' flowers were sprayed with water. Thirty-four selected BC(1) plants were generated by test crossing resistant WR-315 individuals with pollen from toxin-stressed F(1) individuals. Both control and treated F(1) plants were selfed to produce respective F(2) generations. Two DNA markers, CS-27(700bp) and A07C(430bp), linked to susceptible alleles H(1) and H(2), respectively, were used to study the inheritance patterns of h(1) and h(2) loci in the F(2) and BC(1) generations. One hundred and forty-four selected F(2), 129 control F(2), and 34 selected backcross individuals were tested for the presence or absence of DNA markers. Except for the control F(2), observed ratios of selected F(2) and BC(1) populations exhibited significant chi-square deviations from expected monogenic and digenic ratios. Our results suggest that gametophytic selection is as effective as that realized at the sporophytic level, and that the gametophytic selection can be an effective breeding tool for plant breeding programs.