Consensus genetic linkage map and QTL mapping allow to capture the genomic regions associated with agronomic traits in pearl millet.

MAIN CONCLUSION: A genetic linkage map representing the pearl millet genome was constructed with SNP markers. Major and stable QTL associated with flowering, number of productive tillers, ear head length, and test weight were mapped on chromosomes 1 and 3. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a major cereal and fodder crop in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia and Africa. Agronomic traits are important traits in pearl millet breeding and genetic and environmental factors highly influence them. In the present study, an F9 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between PT6029 and PT6129 was evaluated for agronomic traits in three environments. Utilizing a genotyping by sequencing approach, a dense genetic map with 993 single nucleotide polymorphism markers covering a total genetic distance of 1035.4 cM was constructed. The average interval between the markers was 1.04 cM, and the seven chromosomes varied from 115.39 to 206.72 cM. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping revealed 35 QTL for seven agronomic traits, and they were distributed on all pearl millet chromosomes. These QTL individually explained 11.35 to 26.71% of the phenotypic variation, with LOD values ranging from 2.74 to 5.80. Notably, four QTL (qDFF1.1, qNPT3.1, qEHL3.1, and qTW1.1) associated with days to fifty percent flowering, the number of productive tillers, ear head length, and test weight were found to be major and stable QTL located on chromosomes 1 and 3. Collectively, our results provide an important base for understanding the genetic architecture of agronomic traits in pearl millet, which is useful for accelerating the genetic gain toward crop improvement.

Drought resistance strategies in minor millets: a review.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The review discusses growth and drought-response mechanisms in minor millets under three themes: drought escape, drought avoidance and drought tolerance. Drought is one of the most prominent abiotic stresses impacting plant growth, performance, and productivity. In the context of climate change, the prevalence and severity of drought is expected to increase in many agricultural regions worldwide. Millets (coarse grains) are a group of small-seeded grasses cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world and are an important source of food and feed for humans and livestock. Although minor millets, i.e., foxtail millet, finger millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and little millet are generally hardier and more drought-resistant than cereals and major millets (sorghum and pearl millet), understanding their responses, processes and strategies in response to drought is more limited. Here, we review drought resistance strategies in minor millets under three themes: drought escape (e.g., short crop cycle, short vegetative period, developmental plasticity and remobilization of assimilates), drought avoidance (e.g., root traits for better water absorption and leaf traits to control water loss), and drought tolerance (e.g., osmotic adjustment, maintenance of photosynthetic ability and antioxidant potential). Data from 'omics' studies are summarized to provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms important in drought tolerance. In addition, the final section highlights knowledge gaps and challenges to improving minor millets. This review is intended to enhance major cereals and millet per se in light of climate-related increases in aridity.

Major transcription factor families at the nexus of regulating abiotic stress response in millets: a comprehensive review.

Millets stand out as a sustainable crop with the potential to address the issues of food insecurity and malnutrition. These small-seeded, drought-resistant cereals have adapted to survive a broad spectrum of abiotic stresses. Researchers are keen on unravelling the regulatory mechanisms that empower millets to withstand environmental adversities. The aim is to leverage these identified genetic determinants from millets for enhancing the stress tolerance of major cereal crops through genetic engineering or breeding. This review sheds light on transcription factors (TFs) that govern diverse abiotic stress responses and play role in conferring tolerance to various abiotic stresses in millets. Specifically, the molecular functions and expression patterns of investigated TFs from various families, including bHLH, bZIP, DREB, HSF, MYB, NAC, NF-Y and WRKY, are comprehensively discussed. It also explores the potential of TFs in developing stress-tolerant crops, presenting a comprehensive discussion on diverse strategies for their integration.

Realizing visionary goals for the International Year of Millet (IYoM): accelerating interventions through advances in molecular breeding and multiomics resources.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Leveraging advanced breeding and multi-omics resources is vital to position millet as an essential "nutricereal resource," aligning with IYoM goals, alleviating strain on global cereal production, boosting resilience to climate change, and advancing sustainable crop improvement and biodiversity. The global challenges of food security, nutrition, climate change, and agrarian sustainability demand the adoption of climate-resilient, nutrient-rich crops to support a growing population amidst shifting environmental conditions. Millets, also referred to as "Shree Anna," emerge as a promising solution to address these issues by bolstering food production, improving nutrient security, and fostering biodiversity conservation. Their resilience to harsh environments, nutritional density, cultural significance, and potential to enhance dietary quality index made them valuable assets in global agriculture. Recognizing their pivotal role, the United Nations designated 2023 as the "International Year of Millets (IYoM 2023)," emphasizing their contribution to climate-resilient agriculture and nutritional enhancement. Scientific progress has invigorated efforts to enhance millet production through genetic and genomic interventions, yielding a wealth of advanced molecular breeding technologies and multi-omics resources. These advancements offer opportunities to tackle prevailing challenges in millet, such as anti-nutritional factors, sensory acceptability issues, toxin contamination, and ancillary crop improvements. This review provides a comprehensive overview of molecular breeding and multi-omics resources for nine major millet species, focusing on their potential impact within the framework of IYoM. These resources include whole and pan-genome, elucidating adaptive responses to abiotic stressors, organelle-based studies revealing evolutionary resilience, markers linked to desirable traits for efficient breeding, QTL analysis facilitating trait selection, functional gene discovery for biotechnological interventions, regulatory ncRNAs for trait modulation, web-based platforms for stakeholder communication, tissue culture techniques for genetic modification, and integrated omics approaches enabled by precise application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Aligning these resources with the seven thematic areas outlined by IYoM catalyzes transformative changes in millet production and utilization, thereby contributing to global food security, sustainable agriculture, and enhanced nutritional consequences.

Harnessing the nutritional profile and health benefits of millets: a solution to global food security problems.

India is dealing with both nutritional and agricultural issues. The maximum area of agricultural land with irrigation capabilities has been largely utilized, while the amount of dry land is expanding. The influence is distinct on farmer's livelihoods and earnings, which ultimately affects nutritional security. In order to attain nutritional security and the goal of SDG (Sustainable Development Goals), millets are sustainable solutions, with respect to high nutritional content, bioactive and medicinal properties, and climate resilience. The nutrient profile of millet includes 60%-70% carbohydrate content, 3.5%-5.2% fat, and 7.52%-12.1% protein sources. A wide spectrum of amino acids, including cysteine, isoleucine, arginine, leucine, tryptophan, lysine, histidine, methionine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, threonine, and valine are generally present in millets. Mineral content in millets includes calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Additionally, millets are an excellent source of bioactive molecules such as polyphenol, phenolic acid, flavonoids, active peptides, and soluble fiber, which have a wide range of therapeutic applications, including the prevention of free radical damage, diabetes, anti-microbial, anti- biofilm, and anti-cancer effects. This review will focus on the nutritional profile and health benefits of millet considering the present-day food security problems.

"Millet Models" for harnessing nuclear factor-Y transcription factors to engineer stress tolerance in plants: current knowledge and emerging paradigms.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The main purpose of this review is to shed light on the role of millet models in imparting climate resilience and nutritional security and to give a concrete perspective on how NF-Y transcription factors can be harnessed for making cereals more stress tolerant. Agriculture faces significant challenges from climate change, bargaining, population, elevated food prices, and compromises with nutritional value. These factors have globally compelled scientists, breeders, and nutritionists to think of some options that can combat the food security crisis and malnutrition. To address these challenges, mainstreaming the climate-resilient and nutritionally unparalleled alternative crops like millet is a key strategy. The C4 photosynthetic pathway and adaptation to low-input marginal agricultural systems make millets a powerhouse of important gene and transcription factor families imparting tolerance to various kinds of biotic and abiotic stresses. Among these, the nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) is one of the prominent transcription factor families that regulate diverse genes imparting stress tolerance. The primary purpose of this article is to shed light on the role of millet models in imparting climate resilience and nutritional security and to give a concrete perspective on how NF-Y transcription factors can be harnessed for making cereals more stress tolerant. Future cropping systems could be more resilient to climate change and nutritional quality if these practices were implemented.

Transitioning diets: a mixed methods study on factors affecting inclusion of millets in the urban population.

BACKGROUND: The increasing health challenge in urban India has led to consumers to change their diet preferences by shifting away from staple cereals and making way for healthier foods such as nutri-cereals like millets and other diverse food groups. Taking the case of millets, this study seeks to uncover the exact drivers for this shift of consumers away from a traditional cereal dense diet to a nutritionally more diverse diet that includes nutri-cereal. We also look at deterrents that dissuade consumers from shifting to millets. METHOD: We use primary data by surveying respondents through interviews and focused group discussions and online questionnaires. A total of 20 personal consumer interviews and 4 focus group discussions having 8-12 members each were conducted to arrive at the measures for the study. We use logistic regression and Structural Equation Modeling for data analysis. Responses were obtained across major metropolitan cities and tier 2 cities of India thus ensuring representation of geographical, cultural and diet diversity. 875 participants' responses were analysed for results. RESULTS: Health reasons and social networks are the major drivers for shift to millets while lack of awareness, lack of easy availability, high prices, lack of branded products, family being averse to switching to millets and lack of attractive promotional cashbacks and discounts are major deterrents to trying out millets. CONCLUSIONS: Diet focussed interventions are urgently needed to curb rising diet related non communicable diseases. Government policies aimed at greater production of millets, running awareness campaigns on mass media and private sector initiatives aimed at generating better value added market offerings could lead the way.

Minor millets: a review on nutritional composition, starch extraction/modification, product formulation, and health benefits.

Minor millet grains are the abode of healthy constituents of human concern that contribute to healthy longevity. Additionally, they are excellent in nutritional value including macronutrients namely, protein (7-13%), carbohydrates (60-70%), fat (1.5-5%), fiber (2-7%) and for micronutrients as well namely; iron, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, etc. All these beneficial traits along with the availability of bioactive constituents (polyphenols and antioxidants) prove them to be therapeutic in action and also uplift the immunity among users. Employed isolation tactics for starch also govern yield characteristics and is usually preferred by way of wet method. Minor millets are abundant in starch (50-70%) thus application broadness is another attribute which could be addressed in vivid food segments. In case, native starches somehow possess least application credentials in food and non-food sectors thus modification is the only alternative to eliminate shortcomings. As in trend, modification using physical, chemical, and enzymatic ways have a wide impact on the properties of millet starch. The present review summarizes the nutritional, bioactive and therapeutic potential of minor millets, along with ways of starch modification and product development through millet involvement. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Millets (Shrianna) and lifestyle diseases: A healing touch.

Traditionally, millets were the earliest food to be domesticated by human beings and it constituted the staple food for various civilisations across Asia and Africa. Somehow, during the course of modernization, the production and consumption of millets has declined significantly. Government of India has taken a lead role and has launched widescale strategies to promote millets in order to make India a global hub for millets. Millets has immense potential in enhancing the socioeconomic and health status of people. Regular consumption of millets translates into better post prandial blood glucose and better HbA1c levels. Millets mitigates atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk by lowering insulin resistance, better glycemic control, lowering non high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, lowering BP and by virtue of presence of various antioxidants. There is a need to revive the awareness about nutritive and therapeutic values of millets. Scientific community is increasingly realising the enormous potential of millets in enhancing the nutritional quality of the population and as a tool to halt the global pandemic of lifestyle diseases.

Effect of popping and malting processing techniques on physiochemical, antinutrients and antioxidant properties of millets flour.

The present investigation aimed to evaluate the effect of popping and malting on nutritional characteristics in millets. Five genotypes each of sorghum, finger millet and pearl millet were analyzed after popping and malting process. The physiochemical, antinutrients and antioxidant properties were observed in raw, popped and malted millet flours. The crude protein and energy were found to increase when popped and decrease after malting, whereas crude fibre content significantly decreased in popped and malted flours of all millets over the raw flours. A significant rise in total soluble carbohydrates was seen after raw millets were processed. Malting resulted in increase of enzymatic activities (Lipoxygenase and alpha-amylase). Alkaloids and antioxidants (FRAP, DPPH and Ascorbic acid) increased whereas starch and amylose decreased after processing techniques compared to raw flour. Total phenols and tannins increased and reduction in antinutrients i.e. phytic acid, saponins and oxalate was seen in processed millet flours over raw. The results showed that the household processing techniques i.e. popping and malting improved the nutritional composition and antioxidant potential with simultaneous decrease in antinutritional components in all millet genotypes. Raw and processed pearl millet genotype PCB-166 found to be better in terms of nutritional and antioxidant potential, and therefore, could fulfill the nutritional needs of the poor community. Further, processed millet flours could be utilized in the development of value added products. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05758-4.

Production of buns, the bakery-based snack food, with reduced refined wheat flour content: Recent developments.

Buns are very soft puffed bakery snack items, popular in many countries, especially low- and middle-income nations. Buns are either eaten directly or used in the preparation of culinary items. Buns are mainly prepared using refined wheat flour rich in gluten protein and devoid of husk. Consuming gluten-containing foods is leading to several health complications among consumers worldwide. Hence, several researchers have tried to reduce the gluten content in the dough by incorporating cereals flours, protein-rich sources like soy, cheese whey, etc., hydrocolloids, millets, pomace, and seed flour of vegetables and fruits, etc. These additives not only reduce gluten content in the buns to a certain extent but also enhance the fibre content and nutritional profile of the buns. This mini-review summarizes the recent developments in the production of buns using these additives to improve their nutritional quality.

Optimizing the effect of ultrasonication and germination on antinutrients and antioxidants of kodo (Paspalum scrobiculatum) and little (Panicum sumatrense) millets.

Kodo (Paspalum scrobiculatum) and little (Panicum sumatrense) millet grains were utilized to minimize their antinutrient content (phytate and tannin) and maximize their antioxidant activity (DPPH) by studying the effect of ultrasonication time, germination time and temperature using central composite rotatable design. Results revealed the optimum conditions for producing ultrasonicated and germinated kodo and little millet flour of the highest antioxidant activity and lowest antinutrient content (phytate and tannin) by using 30 min for ultrasonication, 72 h for germination at 40 °C. Further, a second order model was developed to describe and predict the effect of process variables on antioxidant activity and antinutrient contents. Extended experiments were carried out under the optimized conditions to validate the developed model. The antioxidant activity obtained was 88.46% RSA and 89.06% RSA for kodo and little millet grain flours, respectively whereas antinutrient content for phytate was 0.165 mol/kg and 0.199 mol/kg and for tannin 2.88 mol/kg and 9.51 mol/kg, for kodo and little millet grain flours, respectively. This study provides useful information about the potential utilization of ultrasonicated and germinated kodo and little millet grain flours for the development of functional foods.

Genome-editing in millets: current knowledge and future perspectives.

Millets are small seeded cereal crops predominantly cultivated and consumed by resource-poor farmers in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. Millets possess rich nutrients and a climate resilience property when compared to the other cereals such as rice and wheat. Millet improvement using modern genetic and genomic tools is falling behind other cereal crops due to their cultivation being restricted to less developed countries. Genome editing tools have been successfully applied to major cereal crops and, as a result, many key traits have been introduced into rice, wheat and maize. However, genome editing tools have not yet been used for most millets although they possess rich nutrients. The foxtail millet is the only millet utilised up to now for genome editing works. Limited genomic resources and lack of efficient transformation systems may slow down genome editing in millets. As millets possess many important traits of agricultural importance, high resolution studies with genome editing tools will help to understand the specific mechanism and transfer such traits to major cereals in the future. This review covers the current status of genome editing studies in millets and discusses the future prospects of genome editing in millets to understand key traits of nutrient fortification and develop climate resilient crops in the future.

Carbohydrate profiling & glycaemic indices of selected traditional Indian foods.

Background & objectives: Consumption of high glycaemic index (GI) food is associated with a high risk for diabetes. There is a felt need to understand the GI of common Indian traditional foods using standard GI protocols. The present study was aimed to analyse the carbohydrate profile of common traditional Indian food preparation and to determine their GI using standardized protocols. Methods: Twelve food preparations made of millets, wheat, maize and pulses were evaluated for nutrient composition including detailed carbohydrate profiling and tested for GI in healthy volunteers using standard methodology. Capillary blood glucose responses for the test foods containing 50 g available carbohydrates were recorded and compared to the reference food (50 g glucose). GI was calculated from the incremental area under the curve (IUAC) for the test and reference foods. Results: Available carbohydrate content of the food preparations ranged between 13.6 and 49.4 g per cent. Maize roti showed the highest total dietary fibre (7.5 g%). White chick pea 'sundal' showed highest resistant starch content (3.95 g%). Amongst the 12 test foods, five fell in the high GI category (finger millet balls, sorghum, pearl millet and maize roti), four in the medium GI category (sorghum idli, wheat dosa, methi roti and adai) and three in the low GI category (broken wheat upma, white peas sundal and white chick peas sundal). Interpretation & conclusions: Merely being a whole grain-based food does not qualify for a lower GI. The method of processing, food structural integrity and preparation could influence the GI. The type and quality of fibre are important than the quantity of fibre alone. Judicious planning of accompaniments using low GI legumes may favourably modify the glycaemic response to high GI foods in a meal.

Improvement of millets in the post-genomic era.

Millets are food and nutrient security crops in the semi-arid tropics of developing countries. Crop improvement using modern tools is one of the priority areas of research in millets. The whole-genome sequence (WGS) of millets provides new insight into understanding and studying the genes, genome organization and genomic-assisted improvement of millets. The WGS of millets helps to carry out genome-wide comparison and co-linearity studies among millets and other cereal crops. This approach might lead to the identification of genes underlying biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in millets. The available genome sequence of millets can be used for SNP identification, allele discovery, association and linkage mapping, identification of valuable candidate genes, and marker-assisted breeding (MAB) programs. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology provides opportunities for genome-assisted breeding (GAB) through genomic selection (GS) and genome-wide association studies (GAWS) for crop improvement. Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) genome editing (GE) system provides new opportunities for millet improvement. In this review, we discuss the details on the WGS available for millets and highlight the importance of utilizing such resources in the post-genomic era for millet improvement. We also draw inroads on the utilization of various approaches such as GS, GWAS, functional genomics, gene validation and GE for millet improvement. This review might be helpful for understanding the developments in the post-genomic era of millet improvement.

Formulation of nutritional and ready to mix gluten-free porridge from proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) little millet (Panicum sumatrense) and legume faba bean (Vicia faba).

The underutilized millets and legumes (proso millet, little millet, soaked and germinated faba beans) were mixed in different combinations to develop ready to eat porridge. Physiochemical and functional properties such as color, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), pasting properties, microstructure and in vitro starch digestibility of formulated porridge mix were evaluated. The porridge mix formulations exhibited a considerable amount of proteins (17.97-22.17 g/100 g) and carbohydrates (70.24-72.25 g/100 g). WAI and WSI of the different porridge formulations (P1-P6) ranged from 3.07 to 3.34 g/g and 10.37 to 25.81 g/100 g/100 g, respectively. The in vitro starch digestibility of formulation P5 (little millet, proso millet and soaked faba bean) was significantly higher (67.70%) compared to other formulations. This study concluded that nutritional, functional values as well as the digestibility of porridge mixes were improved after incorporation of soaked faba beans. The ready to eat porridge mix based on underutilized legumes and millets can serve as source of macro and micronutrients for all age groups.

Development of a convenient, nutritious ready to cook packaged product using millets with a batch scale process development for a small-scale enterprise.

To keep up with changing trends and increasing demand for clean labels, consumers preferences have to be met for, not only convenient and tastier foods but with products which are nutritious and promote health and sustainability. The ready to cook foods are finding more market shelf space with a growing CAGR of over 18%. The present study explores development of ready to cook foods using bio-diversified grains for more sustainability and targets LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) segment. The study undertook trials for development of ready to cook millet khichdi and upma with packaging and shelf life study. The pilot study also undertook batch process trials for process standardization. For the development, the millet grains (foxtail and little millet) were subjected to dry roasting process. It was observed that the desirable conditions for roasting were 18 min at 110 °C to attain moisture below 4% and better organoleptic score for reconstitution. Nutritional analyses revealed that both the mixes had good amount of protein, dietary fibre and minerals compared to the similar products available in the market. Batch scale process trials revealed that the process can be easily undertaken for a small-scale production and had a good scope of being a women enterprise model. Shelf life studies performed indicated that products had a good shelf life at ambient conditions and required no additives or preservatives and thus, catered to the need for natural, clean, convenient to use nutritious products.

Prolonged consumption of grass pea (64 g/Cu/day) along with millets and other cereals causes no neurolathyrism.

Objective: To assess the safe limit of L. sativus (grass pea) consumption along with cereals and millets.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in three districts (Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur) of Chhattisgarh state. A total of 1500 households (HHs) were surveyed. A total of 360 split grass pea (SGP) samples were collected from all three districts for ?-ODAP analysis. Clinical examination was carried out for symptoms of neurolathyrism. Diet survey was done on 5769 HHs by 24hr recall method. Mean intake of different foods and nutrients were calculated. Based on food frequency questionnaire, HHs were separated into daily consumers of SGP along with its quantity consumed and that never consumed SGP.Results: The study revealed that 30 daily consuming and 89 never consuming HHs, in all the three districts. Daily SGP was consumed at an average of 64 g/Cu/day along with millets, cereals and vegetables. Whereas among the never consumers of SGP, mean intake of vegetables was higher than recommended intakes in addition to pulses. The average ?-ODAP content in SGP was 0.630 g%. The nutritional status of children <5 years and the adults was not significantly different between the daily SGP consumers and never consumers. Households in all the three districts, who consumed the SGP recipes, followed the method of washing, boiling, draining the excess water and cooking the pulse.Discussion: There were no adverse effects observed among daily consumers of grass pea (64 g/CU/day) along with millets, cereals and vegetables.

Genetics and Genomics Interventions for Promoting Millets as Functional Foods.

Several crops, including millets with immense nutritional and therapeutic values, were once a part of our regular diet. However, due to domestication and selection pressures, many of them have become marginally cultivated crops confined to a particular region, race, or locality. Millets are a perfect example of neglected species that have the potential to address both food and nutritional insecurities prevalent among the ever-growing global population. Starvation and malnutrition contribute to a large number of health-related issues, being the main reason behind the occurrence of most of the severe diseases worldwide. These constraints are repeatedly disturbing both the social and economic health of global society. Naturally, millets are rich in minerals, nutrients, and bioactive compounds, and these crops are less dependent on synthetic fertilizers, systemic irrigation, and pest/weed control. Given this, the review emphasizes the nutritional values, health benefits, processing techniques, and genomic advancements of millets. In addition, it proposes a roadmap for enhancing the utility and commercialization of millets.

Improvement of nutrient bioavailability in millets: Emphasis on the application of enzymes.

Millets are a traditional staple food of the dryland regions of the world and are rich in essential nutrients like protein, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber. Also, millets commonly synthesize a range of secondary metabolites to protect themselves against adverse conditions. These factors are collectively termed anti-nutritional factors and the existence of these factors in millets might reduce the accessibility of the nutrients in humans. Some of these factors include protease inhibitors, tannins, non-starch polysaccharides-glucans, phytates, and oxalates each of which might directly or indirectly affect the digestibility of nutrients. Methods like soaking, germination, autoclaving, debranning, and the addition of exogenous enzymes have been used to reduce the anti-nutritional factors and elevate the bioavailability of the nutrients. This review summarizes various methods that have been used to improve nutrient bioavailability, specifically emphasizing the use of enzymes to improve nutrient bioavailability from millets. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.