Gene discovery could make foxtail millet shorter and sturdier
Lv J, Cheng J, Hu Z, Lan Q, Yang Y
Crispr
Foxtail millet feeds millions across Asia and Africa on land too poor for other crops, and a stockier version that doesn't topple over in wind or rain means farmers could pack in more plants per field and still bring in a full harvest.
Researchers found a natural mutant of foxtail millet that grows shorter, sends up more shoots, and stands up better in wind and rain compared to normal plants. The cause is a single tiny change in a gene that controls a plant growth hormone called gibberellin, the same hormone family behind the famous short, high-yielding rice and wheat varieties of the Green Revolution. When the researchers used gene-editing to recreate this exact change, they got the same compact, sturdy plants, and importantly, those plants kept their grain yield and quality even when grown packed closely together.
Key Findings
sidt1 mutant plants are semi-dwarf, produce more tillers (shoots), have a compact architecture, and resist lodging (falling over) better than normal plants
A single A-to-T mutation in the SiDT1 gene, which encodes a GA3-oxidase enzyme (related to rice's D18/XIAOWEI gene), disrupts gibberellin hormone production
CRISPR-Cas9 knockout of SiDT1 reproduced the same dwarf, high-tillering phenotype, and sidt1 plants maintained grain yield and quality under high-density planting
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found the gene behind a shorter, sturdier foxtail millet plant that resists falling over and still produces good yields when grown densely, offering the same kind of breakthrough that boosted rice and wheat harvests during the Green Revolution.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
SiDT1 Defines Plant Architecture Reminiscent of Green Revolution in Foxtail Millet.
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is a drought-tolerant C4 cereal that grows on marginal lands and serves as a nutrient-rich food for millions in Asia and Africa. Despite its resilience and nutritio...
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Foxtail millet, scientific name Setaria italica, is an annual grass grown for human food. It is the second-most widely planted species of millet and the most grown millet species in Asia. The oldest evidence of foxtail millet cultivation was found along the ancient course of the Yellow River in C...