Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2022 Jun;75:102683. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102683. Epub 2022 Jan 15.
C grasses dominate natural and agricultural settings, and the widespread success of wild grasses is mostly attributable to their resilience to environmental extremes. Much of this natural stress tolerance has been lost in major cereals as a byproduct of domestication and intensive selection. Millets are an exception, and they were domesticated in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where selection favored tolerance and stability over yield. Here, we review the evolutionary and domestication histories of millets and the traits that enable their stress tolerance, broad adaptability, and superior nutritional qualities compared to other cereals. We discuss genome editing and advanced breeding approaches that can be used to develop nutritious, climate resilient cereals of the future. Finally, we propose that millets can play a central role in the global food system to combat food insecurity, with researchers and germplasm from the Global South at the center of these efforts.
C 草在自然和农业环境中占主导地位，野生草的广泛成功主要归因于它们对环境极端条件的适应能力。由于驯化和密集选择的副产品，大多数主要谷物已经失去了这种天然的抗逆性。小米是个例外，它们是在撒哈拉以南非洲和亚洲的半干旱地区被驯化的，在这些地区，选择有利于对产量的耐受性和稳定性。在这里，我们回顾了小米的进化和驯化历史，以及使它们具有抗逆性、广泛适应性和优于其他谷物的营养价值的特征。我们讨论了基因组编辑和先进的育种方法，这些方法可以用来开发未来营养丰富、抗气候的谷物。最后，我们提出小米可以在全球粮食系统中发挥核心作用，以应对粮食不安全问题，而全球南方的研究人员和种质资源将处于这些努力的中心。
