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

Genetics and breeding for climate change in Orphan crops

Climate change is rapidly changing how we live, what we eat and produce, the crops we breed and the target traits. Previously underutilized orphan crops that are climate resilient are receiving much attention from the crops research community, as they are often the only crops left in the field after periods of extreme weather conditions. There are several orphan crops with incredible resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. Some are nutritious, while others provide good sources of biofuel, medicine and other industrial raw materials. Despite these benefits, orphan crops are still lacking in important genetic and genomic resources that could be used to fast track their improvement and make their production profitable. Progress has been made in generating draft genomes of at least 28 orphan crops over the last decade, thanks to the reducing cost of sequencing. The implementation of a structured breeding program that takes advantage of additional modern crop improvement tools such as genomic selection, speed breeding, genome editing, high throughput phenotyping and breeding digitization would make rapid improvement of these orphan crops possible, but would require coordinated research investment. Other production challenges such as lack of adequate germplasm conservation, poor/non-existent seed systems and agricultural extension services, as well as poor marketing channels will also need to be improved if orphan crops were to be profitable. We review the importance of breeding orphan crops under the increasing effects of climate change, highlight existing gaps that need to be addressed and share some lessons to be learned from major crops.

Fonio grains: Physicochemical properties, nutritional potential, and food applications

Fonio grains are a type of small-seeded cereals native to Western Africa and are important cereal crops for food security. The two species are white fonio (Digitaria exilis) (commonly called acha) and black fonio (Digitaria iburua) (commonly called iburu). As a novel food, fonio has attracted attention from other parts of the world due to their attractive nutritional properties (e.g., in whole grain form and being gluten free) and potential food applications. The information regarding the functional properties and applications of fonio is rather scattered. This review summarizes the chemical composition, physicochemical and nutritional properties, and diverse food applications of fonio. The nutritional composition and processing properties of fonio are similar to other cereals. Fonio has potential to be complementary to major cereals for diverse food uses. There are research opportunities to better explore fonio grains for value-added applications.