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Global team sequences 429 chickpea lines to identify heat-tolerant genes
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Tuesday, 30 April, 2019, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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Scientists from 21 research institutes globally, have achieved a major breakthrough with the successful completion of the sequencing of 429 chickpea lines from 45 countries to identify genes for tolerance to drought and heat.
The efforts equipped the team with key insights into the crop’s genetic diversity, domestication and agronomic traits. The study also mapped the origins of chickpea and its ascent in Asia and Africa.
The team, led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, in close collaboration with the BGI-Shenzhen, China, involved 39 scientists from leading global research institutes, which are listed as follows:
- ICRISAT, Hyderabad
- BGI-Shenzhen, China
- ICAR—Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi, India
- French National Research Institute for Development (IRD-France), University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- The University of Western Australia (UWA), Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, India
- ICRISAT, Nairobi, Kenya
- Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Debre Ziet, Ethiopia.
- Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya.
- University of Agricultural Sciences—Bangalore, Bengaluru
- iCarbonX, Shenzhen
- Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- University of California—Davis, USA
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico
- University of Missouri, National Centre for Soybean Biotechnology, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
- South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide, Australia
- University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, Australia
- University of Vermont, Burlington, USA
- China National Gene Bank (CNGB), Shenzhen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, Shenzhen
This is the largest-ever exercise of whole-genome resequencing of chickpea.
What this means to the agricultural community is potential development of newer varieties of chickpea with higher yields, which are disease-and-pest-resistant, and better able to withstand the vagaries of weather.
The results of the three-year-long efforts have now been published in Nature Genetics online with the title, Resequencing of 429 chickpea accessions from 45 countries provides insights into genome diversity, domestication and agronomic traits.
Over 90 per cent of chickpea cultivation area is in South Asia. Drought and increasing temperatures are said to cause over 70 per cent yield loss in chickpea globally. Chickpea, being a cool season crop, is likely to suffer further reduction in productivity due to rising temperatures.
“The genome-wide association studies identified several candidate genes for 13 agronomic traits. For example, we could identify genes (for example, REN1, ß-1, 3-glucanase, REF6) which can help the crop tolerate temperatures up to 38oC and provide higher productivity,” said Rajeev Varshney, project leader and research programme director, Genetic Gains, ICRISAT.
Xu Xun, chief executive officer and president, BGI Research, China, and co-leader of the project, said, “BGI is very excited to work with CGIAR institutes like ICRISAT in high-end science research which could enable development of drought and heat-tolerant chickpea varieties for India and Africa.”
“BGI has been enjoying a collaboration with ICRISAT for the past decade, and we look forward to working together on many exciting projects in the years to come,” he added.
The study established a foundation for large-scale characterisation of germplasm, population genetics and crop breeding. It also helped understand domestication and post-domestication divergence of chickpea.
“This new found knowledge will enable breeders to enhance the use of diverse germplasm and candidate genes in developing improved (climate-change-ready) varieties that will contribute significantly to the increased productivity and sustainability of agricultural development in developing countries,” said Peter Carberry, director general, ICRISAT.
Highlighting the importance of this study, Marie Haga, executive director, Global Crop Diversity Trust, Germany, said, “This is exciting work by ICRISAT and partners to unlock the genetic diversity of chickpea.”
“This deeper understanding of the crop could enable scientists to breed new varieties that are both highly productive and resilient to climate change, benefiting farming communities in many developing countries,” she added.
The study was done in close collaboration with partners from the National Agricultural Research Systems.
India, for instance as the biggest consumer of pulses in the world, faces an increasing production gap. This new research could take India closer towards attaining self-sufficiency in pulse production.
“This is a significant contribution to global agricultural research and these unique, scientific solutions will help mitigate issues the world is facing right now. Science is key to ongoing efforts within ICAR and ICRISAT and also the way forward for agriculture in the country,” said Trilochan Mohapatra, secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and director general, ICAR.
The study also confirms that chickpea came to India from the Fertile Crescent/Mediterranean via Afghanistan, and may have been introduced back to the primary centres of origin after 200 years.
The new study speculates about the possible introduction of chickpea to the New World directly from Central Asia or East Africa rather than the Mediterranean.
“Our study indicates Ethiopia as secondary centre of diversity and also maps a migration route from the Mediterranean/Fertile Crescent to Central Asia, and in parallel from Central Asia to East Africa (Ethiopia) and South Asia (India),” Varshney said.
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