Investigating Genetic Variations Associated with High Micronutrient Content in Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) for a Sustainable Future

Society is demanding sustainable interventions to mitigate the challenges associated with micronutrient malnutrition and global food insecurity. On a global scale, two billion people are suffering from micronutrient malnutrition, with most of them living in developing countries. Within developing countries, Iron and Zinc deficiencies are the most prevalent nutritional disorders. More than 200 million of the world’s most nutritionally insecure people are dependent upon pearl millet as their main dietary staple crop; therefore micronutrient biofortification of pearl millet is a promising solution in preventing micronutrient malnutrition. Using a collection of 250 accessions drawn from the global pearl millet germplasm (PMiGAP), we aim to identify candidate genes involved in micronutrient accumulation. This will help develop micronutrient dense varieties through plant breeding methods. PMiGAP is being genotyped using RADseq in order to identify genome wide SNPs that segregate across the panel. PMiGAP entries are also being phenotyped for micronutrient content by Inductively-coupled Plasma Atomic- Emission Spectroscopy. Additionally, PMiGAP entries are being investigated for other chemical traits present in the grain via HPLC and GCMS. This process of genotyping and phenotyping will identify parts of the pearl millet genome segregating with micronutrient content. Once such genomic regions are identified they will be aligned with the whole genome sequence of pearl millet using bioinformatics in order to identify candidate genes underlying the variations of micronutrient content. Findings from this study will help to improve the micronutrient content not only of pearl millet but also of other staple crops using the power of comparative genomics.