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Fonio millet genome unlocks African orphan crop diversity for agriculture in a changing climate

2020; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41467-020-18329-4

2041-1723

Michaël Abrouk, Hanin Ibrahim Ahmed, Philippe Cubry, Denisa Šimoníková, Stéphane Cauet, Yveline Pailles, Jan Bettgenhaeuser, Liubov Gapa, Nora Scarcelli, Marie Couderc, Leïla Zekraouï, Nagarajan Kathiresan, Jana Čížková, Eva Hřibová, Jaroslav Doležel, Sandrine Arribat, Hélène Bergès, Jan J. Wieringa, Mathieu Guèye, Ndjido Ardo Kane, Christian Leclerc, Sandrine Causse, Sylvie Vancoppenolle, Claire Billot, Thomas Wicker, Yves Vigouroux, Adéline Barnaud, Simon G. Krattinger,

Chromosomal and Genetic Variations

Sustainable food production in the context of climate change necessitates diversification of agriculture and a more efficient utilization of plant genetic resources. Fonio millet (Digitaria exilis) is an orphan African cereal crop with a great potential for dryland agriculture. Here, we establish high-quality genomic resources to facilitate fonio improvement through molecular breeding. These include a chromosome-scale reference assembly and deep re-sequencing of 183 cultivated and wild Digitaria accessions, enabling insights into genetic diversity, population structure, and domestication. Fonio diversity is shaped by climatic, geographic, and ethnolinguistic factors. Two genes associated with seed size and shattering showed signatures of selection. Most known domestication genes from other cereal models however have not experienced strong selection in fonio, providing direct targets to rapidly improve this crop for agriculture in hot and dry environments.