In a first, Karnataka’s agricultural scientists have sequenced the genetic code of ragi, or finger millet, throwing light on the exact building blocks that make it drought-resistant and nutrition-rich.
Scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru (UAS-B) achieved the sequencing of the plant, which, the scientists say, was first domesticated from a wild species in Western Uganda and the Ethiopian highlands before being introduced to India around 3,000 BC.
The key genetic information revealed by the four-year project will aid further research on ragi, the main crop of dry land farmers.
Ragi occupies 12% of global millet cultivation area and Karnataka, which has the second largest drought-prone crop land after Rajasthan, leads in its cultivation. With a low glycemic index, ragi is no longer the poor man’s staple, and is preferred by diabetics. Genome sequencing identifies the order of DNA nucleotides in a genome. The ragi project was pursued by an eight-member team headed by Dr. Shailaja Hittalmani, Professor and University Head of Genetics & Plant Breeding, and its report was published in BMC Genomics on June 15.
“We have identified 2,866 drought-tolerant genes in ragi besides those responsible for its nutrient qualities,” Dr. Hittalmani said.
Potential gains to drought tolerance of rice and wheat through transfer of drought-tolerant genes found in ragi are possible.
Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the scientific advance would help dry land farmers cope with recurrent droughts. Consumers would get a nutrient-rich food through research involving a non-transgenic process.
“In fact the actual process of taking technology to dry-land farmers would now begin as the genome sequencing marks the beginning of focused research towards developing improved crop varieties,” he observed.
