The Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has completed high-quality sequencing of 90 genomes of chickpea (kabuli channa) cultivated and its wild genotypes from 10 different countries.
The scientific breakthrough promises improved grain yields and quality, greater drought tolerance and disease resistance and enhanced genetic diversity.
The sequencing will help crop improvement for sustainable and resilient food production particularly in the marginal environments of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The research milestone was the result of years of genome analysis by the International Chickpea Genome Sequencing Consortium (ICGSC) led by ICRISAT involving 49 scientists from 23 organisations in 10 countries. ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global partnership for a food-secure future.
The partnership identified an estimated 28,269 genes of chickpea after sequencing CDC Frontier, a kabuli (large-seeded) chickpea variety.
Re-sequencing additional 90 genotypes provided millions of genetic markers and low diversity genome regions that may be used in the development of superior varieties. This will help chickpea farmers tackle emerging challenges brought about by the threat of climate change.
The genome map can also be used to harness genetic diversity by broadening the genetic base of cultivated chickpea genepool.
Chickpea is the world’s second largest cultivated grain food legume, grown in about 11.5 million hectares mostly by resource-poor farmers in semi-arid tropics.
The nutritious, drought-tolerant chickpea contributes to income generation and improved livelihoods of smallholder farmers in several African countries and is crucial to the food security in India ? the largest producer, consumer and importer of the crop.
Decoding the genome will help develop improved varieties with higher yields and greater tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. This will help chickpea farmers raise productivity, reduce cost of inputs and realise higher incomes.
?ICRISAT and its partners have once again demonstrated the power of productive partnerships by achieving this breakthrough in legume genomics,? said William Dar, director-general, ICRISAT.
?Genome sequencing will play a crucial role in speeding up the development of improved varieties for smallholder farmer crops such as chickpea,? he added.
?In the face of the growing global hunger and poverty amid the threat of climate change, the chickpea genome sequence will facilitate the development of superior varieties that will generate more income and help extricate vulnerable dryland communities out of poverty and hunger for good, particularly those in the drylands of Asia and sub-Africa for whom ICRISAT and our partners are working,? Dar adds.
?Genetic diversity, an important prerequisite for crop improvement, is very limited and has been a serious constraint for chickpea improvement. This study will provide not only access to ?good genes? to speed up breeding, but also to genomic regions that will bring genetic diversity back from landraces or wild species to breeding lines,? explains Rajeev Varshney, coordinator of ICGSC and Director ? Center of Excellence in Genomics, ICRISAT.
Currently, it takes four to eight years to breed a new chickpea variety.
This genome sequence could reduce to half the time to breed for a new variety with market-preferred traits.