Antinutritional factors in pearl millet grains: Phytate and goitrogens content variability and molecular characterization of genes involved in their pathways

Brown-top millet: an overview of breeding, genetic, and genomic resources development for crop improvement

MAIN CONCLUSION

Brown-top millet is a lesser-known millet with a high grain nutrient value, early maturation, and drought tolerance that needs basic research to understand and conserve food security. Brown-top millet [Urochloa ramosa (L.)] is currently cultivated in some developing countries (especially in India) for food and fodder, although it is less known among the small millets. Like other millets, it contains macro- and micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fiber, all of which have rich health benefits. The nutritional importance and health benefits of brown-top millet are still unknown to many people due to a lack of awareness, wide cultivation, and research. Hence, this millet is currently overshadowed by other major cereals. This review article aims to present the nutritional, breeding, genetic, and genomic resources of brown-top millet to inform millet and other plant researchers. It is important to note that genetic and genomic resources have not yet been created for this millet. To date, there are no genomic and transcriptomic resources for brown-top millet to develop single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and insertion/Deletions (InDels) for breeding studies. Furthermore, studies regarding nutritional significance and health benefits are required to investigate the exact nutritional contents and health benefits of the brown-top millet. The present review delves into the nutritional value and health advantages of brown-top millet, as supported by the available literature. The limitations of producing brown-top millet have been enumerated. We also cover the status of marker-assisted breeding and functional genomics research on closely related species. Lastly, we draw insights for further research such as developing omics resources and applying genome editing to study and improve brown-top millet. This review will help to start breeding and other molecular studies to increase the growth and development of this cereal.

Does consumption of pearl millet cause goiter? A systematic review of existing evidence

Millets (defined here to also include sorghum) have been consumed in Asian and African countries for centuries, and have in recent years become increasingly popular in Western countries, especially because of their proven health and environmental benefits. Nevertheless, some concerns have been raised that their consumption can interfere with thyroid function and cause goiter. This systematic review aimed to investigate the link between millet consumption and goiter. We found nine papers that were relevant to this topic and included them in this review. Among nine papers eight were on pearl millet and one was on fonio millet. The findings of the review indicate that published literature on the association of pearl millet and increased goiter prevalence are not compelling and strong enough to assert that pearl millet consumed as part of a balanced diet can lead to goiter in the general population. To ensure appropriate factual messaging about millets, we need more scientific research to conclusively state whether millet consumption mediates goitrogenic effects.

Genetic and genomic interventions in crop biofortification: Examples in millets

Micronutrient malnutrition is a serious threat to the developing world's human population, which largely relies on a cereal-based diet that lacks diversity and micronutrients. Besides major cereals, millets represent the key sources of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals for people residing in the dryland tropics and drought-prone areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Millets serve as multi-purpose crops with several salient traits including tolerance to abiotic stresses, adaptation to diverse agro-ecologies, higher productivity in nutrient-poor soils, and rich nutritional characteristics. Considering the potential of millets in empowering smallholder farmers, adapting to changing climate, and transforming agrifood systems, the year 2023 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Millets. In this review, we highlight recent genetic and genomic innovations that can be explored to enhance grain micronutrient density in millets. We summarize the advances made in high-throughput phenotyping to accurately measure grain micronutrient content in cereals. We shed light on genetic diversity in millet germplasm collections existing globally that can be exploited for developing nutrient-dense and high-yielding varieties to address food and nutritional security. Furthermore, we describe the progress made in the fields of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phenomics with an emphasis on enhancing the grain nutritional content for designing competitive biofortified varieties for the future. Considering the close genetic-relatedness within cereals, upcoming research should focus on identifying the genetic and genomic basis of nutritional traits in millets and introgressing them into major cereals through integrated omics approaches. Recent breakthroughs in the genome editing toolbox would be crucial for mainstreaming biofortification in millets.

NM, Jebakani K. S, Selvaraj S, Pramitha J. L, Selvaraj R, Petchiammal K. I, Kather Sheriff S, Thinakaran J, Rathinamoorthy S, Kumar P. R. Genetic manipulation of anti-nutritional factors in major crops for a sustainable diet in future

The consumption of healthy food, in order to strengthen the immune system, is now a major focus of people worldwide and is essential to tackle the emerging pandemic concerns. Moreover, research in this area paves the way for diversification of human diets by incorporating underutilized crops which are highly nutritious and climate-resilient in nature. However, although the consumption of healthy foods increases nutritional uptake, the bioavailability of nutrients and their absorption from foods also play an essential role in curbing malnutrition in developing countries. This has led to a focus on anti-nutrients that interfere with the digestion and absorption of nutrients and proteins from foods. Anti-nutritional factors in crops, such as phytic acid, gossypol, goitrogens, glucosinolates, lectins, oxalic acid, saponins, raffinose, tannins, enzyme inhibitors, alkaloids, β-N-oxalyl amino alanine (BOAA), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), are synthesized in crop metabolic pathways and are interconnected with other essential growth regulation factors. Hence, breeding with the aim of completely eliminating anti-nutrition factors tends to compromise desirable features such as yield and seed size. However, advanced techniques, such as integrated multi-omics, RNAi, gene editing, and genomics-assisted breeding, aim to breed crops in which negative traits are minimized and to provide new strategies to handle these traits in crop improvement programs. There is also a need to emphasize individual crop-based approaches in upcoming research programs to achieve smart foods with minimum constraints in future. This review focuses on progress in molecular breeding and prospects for additional approaches to improve nutrient bioavailability in major crops.

Effect of sprouted whole pearl millet on growth performance, intestinal development, bacterial count, and blood indices of broiler chickens

This study investigated the effects of varying levels of sprouted whole grain pearl millet (SPM) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, microbial count, and blood indices of broiler chickens. A maize-soybean meal basal diet was formulated and fed to broiler chickens as starter (0 to 21 d) and finisher (22 to 42 d) diets. The diets comprised of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of SPM incorporated as whole grain. On 0 d, 180 unsexed broiler chickens were allocated to experimental diets in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was replicated three times; each replicate had 12 chicks. All diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric to meet the nutrient requirements of broiler chickens. Diets and water were provided ad libitum for 42 d. Results showed that the body weight gain (BWG) of broiler chickens on SPM compared favorably with those on the control diet. BWG showed trends in increment (P < 0.10) while FCR showed decreased trends (P < 0.10) with partial inclusion of SPM at 42 d and 0 to 42 d. The drumstick weight showed quadratic effect (P = 0.044) while the wing weight showed linear effect (P = 0.047) to treatment diets at 21 d. The liver weights of broiler chickens showed linear response (P = 0.018) at 21 d and (P = 0.004) at 42 d to SPM inclusion in diets. Sprouted whole PM consistently increased low-density lipoprotein concentration and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (P < 0.05). Length and weight of small intestine and ceca showed decreasing trends on SPM levels in the treatment diets. Digesta pH assessment revealed that pH in the crop was lower (P < 0.05) on partial SPM while pH in proventriculus was reduced (P < 0.05) with inclusion of SPM in treatment diets. Lactobacilli count decreased linearly (P = 0.010) with SPM inclusion. This study suggests that SPM could be used as an alternative source of energy in production of broiler chickens. Therefore, partial replacement of maize with SPM in broiler diet had no negative effect on performance, physiological status, and overall health of broiler chickens.

Identification of iron and zinc responsive genes in pearl millet using genome-wide RNA-sequencing approach

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), an important source of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) for millions of families in dryland tropics, helps in eradicating micronutrient malnutrition. The crop is rich in Fe and Zn, therefore, identification of the key genes operating the mineral pathways is an important step to accelerate the development of biofortified cultivars. In a first-of-its-kind experiment, leaf and root samples of a pearl millet inbred ICMB 1505 were exposed to combinations of Fe and Zn stress conditions using the hydroponics method, and a whole-genome transcriptome assay was carried out to characterize the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and pathways. A total of 37,093 DEGs under different combinations of stress conditions were identified, of which, 7,023 and 9,996 DEGs were reported in the leaf and root stress treatments, respectively. Among the 10,194 unique DEGs, 8,605 were annotated to cellular, biological, and molecular functions and 458 DEGs were assigned to 39 pathways. The results revealed the expression of major genes related to the mugineic acid pathway, phytohormones, chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism during Fe and Zn stress. The cross-talks between the Fe and Zn provided information on their dual and opposite regulation of key uptake and transporter genes under Fe and Zn deficiency. SNP haplotypes in rice, maize, sorghum, and foxtail millet as well as in Arabidopsis using pearl millet Fe and Zn responsive genes could be used for designing the markers in staple crops. Our results will assist in developing Fe and Zn-efficient pearl millet varieties in biofortification breeding programs and precision delivery mechanisms to ameliorate malnutrition in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Potential and unrealized future possibilities of browntop millet in the food sector

Browntop millet (BTM) is small-seeded annual grass cultivated as grain crop, primarily on the marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions. It is increasingly receiving attention of the scientific community. Aim of this systematic review is to study the physiochemical, sensory, functional and nutritional properties as well as health benefits of browntop millet. This paper is based on quantitative and qualitative secondary data obtained from 71 out of 208 descriptive and scientific literature reviewed and analyzed from the national and international electronic platforms. The scientific literature based on browntop millet has been found scanty. According to the few studies available energy ranges from 338.0 kcal to 368.62 kcal. The carbohydrate, crude fiber and fat content of BTM is 71.32 gm, 8.06–16.08%, 1.89 gm, respectively. Protein is between 11.64% and 10.72%. Browntop millet contains phytochemicals such as flavonoids, quinones, tannins, and resin. There is galore scope for development and standardization of value added products made from browntop millets such as ready to eat foods (cookies, bars, deserts, etc) and ready to cook foods (idli mix, poha, etc) in which the millet can be used in combination with other cereal grains. Thus, browntop millet holds great potential in alleviating food and nutrition insecurity. It has good nutritional value. It can be used for the prevention and management of several non-communicable diseases. In order to make this smart food popular among farmers and consumers, systematized studies in the field of agriculture, nutrition, toxicology, naturopathy and biomedical sciences need to be done and documented properly. From ancient times BTM has been used in many forms such as forage, staple food or in many traditional dishes. An e-repository can be made of the traditional Indian foods made from BTM to popularize its use among the younger generations.

Gluten-Free Cereals and Pseudocereals as a Potential Source of Exposure to Toxic Elements among Polish Residents

Background: Nutritional food quality plays a crucial role in maintaining human health. However, food and drinking water, along with occupational exposure, are the main routes of exposure to toxic elements for humans. The main aim of this study was to determine the content of As, Cd, Pb and Hg in naturally gluten-free grains and products made from buckwheat, millet, maize, quinoa and oat. The safety of consumption of the products tested was also assessed. Methods: The contents of As, Cd and Pb were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). To measure Hg, an atomic absorption spectrometry method (AAS) with the amalgamation technique was applied. To assess the level of consumption of the tested products, an online survey was conducted. To estimate health risk, three indicators were used: the target hazard quotient (THQ), cancer risk (CR) and hazard index (HI). The research material obtained 242 different samples without replications. Results: The highest average content of As, Cd, Pb and Hg were observed for the following groups of products: oat (10.19 µg/kg), buckwheat (48.35 µg/kg), millet (74.52 µg/kg) and buckwheat (1.37 µg/kg), respectively. For six samples, exceedance of established limits was found—three in the case of Cd and three of Pb. Due to the lack of established limits, As and Hg content of the tested products was not compared. Generally, no increased health risks were identified. Conclusions: Based on the obtained results, the consumption of gluten-free cereals and pseudocereals available on the Polish market seems to be safe. However, there is a great need to establish maximum levels of the toxic elements, especially As and Hg in cereal products in European legislation.

The Impact of Cereal Grain Composition on the Health and Disease Outcomes

Whole grains are a pivotal food category for the human diet and represent an invaluable source of carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, phytocompunds, minerals, and vitamins. Many studies have shown that the consumption of whole grains is linked to a reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. However, several of their positive health effects seem to disappear when grains are consumed in the refined form. Herein we review the available literature on whole grains with a focus on molecular composition and health benefits on many chronic diseases with the aim to offer an updated and pragmatic reference for physicians and nutrition professionals.

Current Status and Potential of Biofortification to Enhance Crop Nutritional Quality: An Overview

Around 2 billion people are suffering from chronic malnutrition or “hidden hunger”, which is the result of many diseases and disorders, including cognitive degeneration, stunting growth, and mortality. Thus, biofortification of staple food crops enriched with micronutrients is a more sustainable option for providing nutritional supplements and managing malnutrition in a society. Since 2001, when the concept of biofortification came to light, different research activities have been carried out, like the development of target populations, breeding or genetic engineering, and the release of biofortified cultivars, in addition to conducting nutritional efficacy trials and delivery plan development. Although, being a cost-effective intervention, it still faces many challenges, like easy accessibility of biofortified cultivars, stakeholders’ acceptance, and the availability of biofortified germplasm in the public domain, which varies from region to region. Hence, this review is focused on the recent potential, efforts made to crop biofortification, impacts analysis on human health, cost-effectiveness, and future perspectives to further strengthen biofortification programs. Through regular interventions of sustainable techniques and methodologies, biofortification holds huge potential to solve the malnutrition problem through regular interventions of nutrient-enriched staple food options for billions of people globally.

Eco-geographic patterns of child malnutrition in India and its association with cereal cultivation: An analysis using demographic health survey and agriculture datasets

Background: High prevalence of maternal malnutrition, low birth-weight and child malnutrition in India contribute substantially to the global malnutrition burden. Rural India has disproportionately higher levels of child malnutrition. Stunting and wasting are the primary determinants of child malnutrition and their district-level distribution shows clustering in different geographies and regions. Cereals, particularly millets, constitute the bulk of protein intake among the poor, especially in rural areas in India where high prevalence of wasting persists. Methods: The last round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) has disaggregated data by district, enabling a more fine-scale characterisation of the prevalence of markers of malnutrition. We used data from NFHS4 and agricultural statistics datasets to analyse relationship of prevalence of malnutrition at the district level and area under cereal cultivation. We analysed malnutrition through data on under-5 stunting and wasting by district.  Results: Stunting and wasting patterns across districts show a distinct geographical and age distribution; districts with higher wasting showed relatively higher prevalence before six months of age. Wasting prevalence at district level was associated with higher cultivation of millets, with a stronger association seen for jowar and other millets (Kodo millet, little millet, proso millet, barnyard millet and foxtail millet). District level stunting was associated with higher district level cultivation of all crops (except other millets). The analysis was limited by lack of fine-scale data on prevalence of low birth-weight and type of cereal consumed. Conclusions: Better cereal cultivation and consumption data will be needed to confirm causal pathways contributing to potential ecogeographic patterns. The cultivation of other millets has a strong association with prevalence of wasting. State-of-the-art studies that improve our understanding of bio-availability of amino acids and other nutrients from the prevalent dietary matrices of rural poor communities will be needed to confirm causal pathways contributing to potential eco-geographic patterns.

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.

Lipase - The fascinating dynamics of enzyme in seed storage and germination - A real challenge to pearl millet

Pearl millet is considered as 'nutri-cereal' because of high nutrient density of the seeds. The grain has limited use because of low keeping quality of the flour due to the activities of rancidity causing enzymes like lipase, lox, pox and PPO. Among all the enzymes, lipase is most notorious because of its robust nature and high activity under different conditions. we have identified 2180 putative transcripts showing homology with different variants of lipase precursor through transcriptome data mining (NCBI BioProject acc. no. PRJNA625418). Lipase plays dual role of facilitating the germination of seeds and deteriorating the quality of the pearl millet flour through hydrolytic rancidity. Different physiochemical methods like heat treatment, micro oven, hydrothermal, etc. have been developed to inhibit lipase activity in pearl millet flour. There is further need to develop improved processing technologies to inhibit the hydrolytic and oxidative rancidity in the floor with enhanced shelf-life.

The nutritional use of millet grain for food and feed: a review

Worldwide, millets are regarded as a significant grain, however, they are the least exploited. Millet grain is abundant in nutrients and health-beneficial phenolic compounds, making it suitable as food and feed. The diverse content of nutrients and phenolic compounds present in finger and pearl millet are good indicators that the variety of millet available is important when selecting it for use as food or feed. The phenolic properties found in millets compromise phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins, which are beneficial to human health. Moreover, finger millet has an exceptionally unique, more abundant, and diverse phenolic profile compared to pearl millet. Research has shown that millet phenolic properties have high antioxidant activity. The presence of phytochemicals in millet grains has positive effect on human health by lowering the cholesterol and phytates in the body. The frantic demands on maize and its uses in multiple industries have merited the search for alternative grains, to ease the pressure. Substitution of maize with pearl and finger millets in the diets of different animals resulted in positive impact on the performance. Including these grains in the diet may improve health and decrease the risks of diseases. Pearl millet of 50% or more can be used in broiler diets without adversely affecting broiler performance or egg production. Of late, millet grain has been incorporated in other foods and used to make traditional beverages. Thus, the core aim of this review is to provide insight and comprehension about the nutritional and phenolic status of millets and their impact on human and livestock.

Does cereal, protein and micronutrient availability hold the key to the malnutrition conundrum? An exploratory analysis of cereal cultivation and wasting patterns of India

Background: High prevalence of maternal malnutrition, low birth-weight and child malnutrition in India contribute substantially to the global malnutrition burden. Rural India has disproportionately higher levels of child malnutrition. Stunting and wasting are the primary determinants of child malnutrition and their district-level distribution shows clustering in different geographies and regions. Methods: The last round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) has disaggregated data by district, enabling a more nuanced understanding of the prevalence of markers of malnutrition. We used data from NFHS4 and agricultural statistics datasets to analyse relationship of area under cereal cultivation with the prevalence of malnutrition at the district level. We analysed malnutrition through data on under-5 stunting and wasting; maternal malnutrition was assessed through prevalence of women’s low BMI and short stature by district.  Results: Stunting and wasting patterns across districts show a distinct geographical and age distribution; districts with higher wasting showed relatively high prevalence of 40% before six months of age. Wasting was associated with higher cultivation of millets, with a stronger association seen for jowar and other millets (Kodo millet, little millet, proso millet, barnyard millet and foxtail millet). Stunting was associated with cultivation of all crops except other millets. Low women’s BMI was seen associated with cultivation of rice and millets. The analysis was limited by lack of fine-scale data on prevalence of low birth-weight and type of cereal consumed. Conclusions: Multi-site observational studies of long-term effects of type of cereals consumed could help explain the ecogeographic distribution of malnutrition in India. Cereals, particularly millets constitute the bulk of protein intake among the poor, especially in rural areas in India where high prevalence of  wasting persists.

Toxicological risk factors in the burden of malnutrition: The case of nutrition (and risk) transition in sub-Saharan Africa

Toxicant exposures may worsen the micronutrient status, especially during the womb-to-childhood development, impairing organism programming and increasing the risk for health disorders in adulthood. Growing evidence calls for an integrated risk analysis of the interplay of environment, behavior and lifestyle, where a) imbalanced diet and micronutrient deficiencies may increase the vulnerability to toxicants and alter body defence systems and b) intake of antinutrients and contaminants may increase nutritional requirements. Such scenarios are especially evident in communities undergoing a fast nutrition transition, such as in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Specific challenges of toxicological risk analysis in sub-Saharan Africa still need a thorough assessment, including: rapid changes of lifestyle and consumers' preferences; dumping of foods and consumer' products; risk management under weak or non-existent awareness, legislation enforcement and infrastructures. The significant and growing literature from Africa-led scientific research should be used to build quality-controlled data repositories supporting regulatory top-down actions. Meanwhile, bottom-up actions (eg consumer's empowerment) could exploit social and economic drivers toward a qualified African presence in the global and local markets. A science-based combination of top-down and bottom-up actions on preventable toxicological risk factors will contribute fighting the new forms of malnutrition and prevent multi-factorial diseases. Exposures to toxicants should be included in the integrated approach proposed by WHO to address the urgent health challenge of simultaneously reduce the risk or burden of both malnutrition (ie deficiency of one or more essential nutrients) and overweight, obesity, and diet-related NCDs.

Is There Such a Thing as "Anti-Nutrients"? A Narrative Review of Perceived Problematic Plant Compounds

Plant-based diets are associated with reduced risk of lifestyle-induced chronic diseases. The thousands of phytochemicals they contain are implicated in cellular-based mechanisms to promote antioxidant defense and reduce inflammation. While recommendations encourage the intake of fruits and vegetables, most people fall short of their target daily intake. Despite the need to increase plant-food consumption, there have been some concerns raised about whether they are beneficial because of the various ‘anti-nutrient’ compounds they contain. Some of these anti-nutrients that have been called into question included lectins, oxalates, goitrogens, phytoestrogens, phytates, and tannins. As a result, there may be select individuals with specific health conditions who elect to decrease their plant food intake despite potential benefits. The purpose of this narrative review is to examine the science of these ‘anti-nutrients’ and weigh the evidence of whether these compounds pose an actual health threat.

Does cereal, protein and micronutrient availability hold the key to the malnutrition conundrum? An exploratory analysis of cereal cultivation and wasting patterns of India

Background: High prevalence of maternal malnutrition, low birth-weight and child malnutrition in India contribute substantially to the global malnutrition burden. Rural India has disproportionately higher levels of child malnutrition. Stunting and wasting are the primary determinants of malnutrition and their district-level distribution shows clustering in different geographies and regions. Methods: The last round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) has disaggregated data by district, enabling a more nuanced understanding of the prevalence of markers of malnutrition. We used data from NFHS4 and agricultural statistics datasets to analyse relationship of cereal cultivation with the prevalence of child malnutrition. We studied the current science on growth-related nutrient-sensing pathways to explain this pattern.  Results: Stunting and wasting patterns across districts show a distinct geographical and age distribution; districts with higher wasting showed early prevalence of 40% at six months of age. Wasting was associated with higher cultivation of millets, with a stronger association seen for jowar and other millets. Low maternal BMI in districts with higher wasting could be linked to the consumption of millets as staple. We conceptualised a hypothetical schematic pathway linking early origin of wasting in children with millet-based diet, driven by inhibition of critical intra-cellular pathways controlling growth covering pre-natal, post-natal and early childhood. The analysis was limited by lack of fine-scale data on prevalence of low birth-weight and type of cereal consumed. Conclusions: Multi-site observational studies of long-term effects of type of cereals consumed could help explain the ecogeographic distribution of malnutrition in India. Cereals, particularly millets constitute the bulk of protein intake among the poor, especially in rural areas in India where wasting persists. Policies and programs targeting malnutrition need to address type of cereal consumed in order to impact childhood malnutrition in parts of India where subsistence cultivation of millets for staple consumption is prevalent.

Phytic Acid and Transporters: What Can We Learn from low phytic acid Mutants

Phytic acid has two main roles in plant tissues: Storage of phosphorus and regulation of different cellular processes. From a nutritional point of view, it is considered an antinutritional compound because, being a cation chelator, its presence reduces mineral bioavailability from the diet. In recent decades, the development of low phytic acid (lpa) mutants has been an important goal for nutritional seed quality improvement, mainly in cereals and legumes. Different lpa mutations affect phytic acid biosynthetic genes. However, other lpa mutations isolated so far, affect genes coding for three classes of transporters: A specific group of ABCC type vacuolar transporters, putative sulfate transporters, and phosphate transporters. In the present review, we summarize advances in the characterization of these transporters in cereals and legumes. Particularly, we describe genes, proteins, and mutants for these different transporters, and we report data of in silico analysis aimed at identifying the putative orthologs in some other cereal and legume species. Finally, we comment on the advantage of using such types of mutants for crop biofortification and on their possible utility to unravel links between phosphorus and sulfur metabolism (phosphate and sulfate homeostasis crosstalk).

Acceptance and Impact of Millet-Based Mid-Day Meal on the Nutritional Status of Adolescent School Going Children in a Peri Urban Region of Karnataka State in India

The study assessed the potential for use of millets in mid-day school meal programs for better nutritional outcomes of children in a peri-urban region of Karnataka, India, where children conventionally consumed a fortified rice-based mid-day meal. For a three-month period, millet-based mid-day meals were fed to 1500 adolescent children at two schools, of which 136 were studied as the intervention group and were compared with 107 other children in two other schools that did not receive the intervention. The intervention design was equivalent to the parallel group, two-arm, superiority trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio. The end line allocation ratio was 1.27:1 due to attrition. It was found that there was statistically significant improvement in stunting (p = 0.000) and the body mass index (p = 0.003) in the intervention group and not in the control group (p = 0.351 and p = 0.511, respectively). The sensory evaluation revealed that all the millet-based menu items had high acceptability, with the highest scores for the following three items: finger millet idli, a steam cooked fermented savory cake; little and pearl millet bisi belle bath, a millet-lentil hot meal; and upma, a pearl and little millet-vegetable meal. These results suggest significant potential for millets to replace or supplement rice in school feeding programs for improved nutritional outcomes of children.

Response to early drought stress and identification of QTLs controlling biomass production under drought in pearl millet

Pearl millet plays a major role in food security in arid and semi-arid areas of Africa and India. However, it lags behind the other cereal crops in terms of genetic improvement. The recent sequencing of its genome opens the way to the use of modern genomic tools for breeding. Our study aimed at identifying genetic components involved in early drought stress tolerance as a first step toward the development of improved pearl millet varieties or hybrids. A panel of 188 inbred lines from West Africa was phenotyped under early drought stress and well-irrigated conditions. We found a strong impact of drought stress on yield components. This impact was variable between inbred lines. We then performed an association analysis with a total of 392,493 SNPs identified using Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS). Correcting for genetic relatedness, genome wide association study identified QTLs for biomass production in early drought stress conditions and for stay-green trait. In particular, genes involved in the sirohaem and wax biosynthesis pathways were found to co-locate with two of these QTLs. Our results might contribute to breed pearl millet lines with improved yield under drought stress.