In a major breakthrough, a team of 19 scientists from 9 institutes have re-sequenced the genome or DNA of 292 pigeonpea varieties (Cajanus cajan – commonly called arhar or tur dal in India) and discovered new traits such as resistance to various diseases that affect the crop and its insensitivity to photo-period (the duration of daylight hours required for reaching maturity). The research also traces the likely origin of the domesticated pigeonpea to Madhya Pradesh.
This breakthrough will lead to the development of superior varieties of this important pulse crop which can enable higher production and profits for smallholder farmers, better market value and bring it within an affordable price range for the consumer, especially the poor. Pigeonpea is a major source of protein, fiber, minerals, vitamins and resistant starch. It is important for ensuring nutritional security for millions in the developing world. The discovery have been published in the journal Nature Genetics.
The 9 collaborating institutes are the University of Western Australia; Shenzhen Millennium Genomics Inc., China; Macrogen Inc., Republic of Korea; Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), India; University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), India; University of California-Davis, the United States; Florida International University, the United States; Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, India and led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India.
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Pigeonpea genome re-sequencing
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