Breeding Drought-Tolerant Pearl Millet Using Conventional and Genomic Approaches: Achievements and Prospects

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Breeding
• Climate Change Adaptation

Background:

• Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a vital C4 crop in tropical and subtropical rain-fed systems, crucial for food and livestock.
• Climate change is predicted to increase drought intensity, posing a significant threat to pearl millet production.
• Understanding pearl millet's response to variable drought conditions across different growth stages is essential for breeding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review strategies for enhancing pearl millet breeding for drought tolerance.
• To explore the integration of genetic resources, genomics, and breeding techniques for developing resilient cultivars.
• To identify target traits and leverage advanced technologies for improved drought adaptation in pearl millet.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive review of physiological and phenological studies on pearl millet's drought response.
• Analysis of advancements in high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping platforms.
• Examination of genomic resources, including quantitative trait loci (QTLs), marker-trait association (MTA), and genomic selection (GS).

Main Results:

• Identification of key traits for drought tolerance through understanding differential sensitivity across growth stages.
• Demonstration of the utility of adapted germplasm and hybridization for combining adaptation and productivity.
• Progress in genomic resource development and application of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for drought breeding.

Conclusions:

• Strategic use of genetic resources, modern genomics, and molecular biology is vital for developing drought-tolerant pearl millet.
• Next-generation sequencing and whole-genome information enhance understanding of germplasm and candidate genes.
• Shuttle breeding approaches can accelerate the development and delivery of high-yielding, drought-resilient pearl millet cultivars.