Exploring the genetic variability and diversity of pearl millet core collection germplasm for grain nutritional traits improvement

Govindaraj, M and Rai, K N and Kanatti, A and Upadhyaya, H D and Shivade, H and Rao, A S (2020) Exploring the genetic variability and diversity of pearl millet core collection germplasm for grain nutritional traits improvement. Scientific Reports (TSI), 10 (1). pp. 1-13. ISSN 2045-2322

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Abstract

Improving essential nutrient content in staple food crops through biofortification breeding can overcome the micronutrient malnutrition problem. Genetic improvement depends on the availability of genetic variability in the primary gene pool. This study was aimed to ascertain the magnitude of variability in a core germplasm collection of diverse origin and predict pearl millet biofortification prospects for essential micronutrients. Germplasm accessions were evaluated in field trials at ICRISAT, India. The accessions differed significantly for all micronutrients with over two-fold variation for Fe (34–90 mg kg−1), Zn (30–74 mg kg−1), and Ca (85–249 mg kg−1). High estimates of heritability (> 0.81) were observed for Fe, Zn, Ca, P, Mo, and Mg. The lower magnitude of genotype (G) × environment (E) interaction observed for most of the traits implies strong genetic control for grain nutrients. The top-10 accessions for each nutrient and 15 accessions, from five countries for multiple nutrients were identified. For Fe and Zn, 39 accessions, including 15 with multiple nutrients, exceeded the Indian cultivars and 17 of them exceeded the biofortification breeding target for Fe (72 mg kg−1). These 39 accessions were grouped into 5 clusters. Most of these nutrients were positively and significantly associated among themselves and with days to 50% flowering and 1000-grain weight (TGW) indicating the possibility of their simultaneous improvement in superior agronomic background. The identified core collection accessions rich in specific and multiple-nutrients would be useful as the key genetic resources for developing biofortified and agronomically superior cultivars.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : Asia
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Pearl Millet, Genetics, Nutrition
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Others > Genetics and Genomics Others > Food and Nutrition
Depositing User:	Mr Arun S
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2020 09:18
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2020 09:18
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/11662
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77818-0
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	This study was undertaken as a part of the CGIAR Research Program on A4NH. The authors acknowledge the funding support from the HarvestPlus Challenge Programme of the CGIAR, and laboratory support provided by Waite Analytical Services, University of Adelaide, Australia, for grain nutrients analysis of grain samples. Funding was provided by HarvestPlus
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