DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal

Subramanyam Ragupathy; Shanmughanandhan Dhivya; Kirit Patel; Abiran Sritharan; Kathirvelu Sambandan; Hom Gartaula; Ramalingam Sathishkumar; Kamal Khadka; Balasubramanian C Nirmala; A Nirmala Kumari; Steven G Newmaster

doi:10.1007/s13205-016-0450-6

DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal

3 Biotech. 2016 Dec;6(2):133. doi: 10.1007/s13205-016-0450-6. Epub 2016 Jun 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada. ragu@uoguelph.ca.
² Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
³ Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ International Development Studies Program, Menno Simons College, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 0G2, Canada.
⁵ Post Graduate Department of Plant Science, Avyaiyar Government College for Women, Karaikal, 609 602, U.T. of Puducherry, India.
⁶ Centre for Biocultural Diversity, 45A Srinivasan Street, Madipakkam, Chennai, 600091, India.
⁷ Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada.
⁸ Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), P.O. Box 324, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal.
⁹ Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, S.D.N.B. Vaishnav College for Women, Chromepet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 044, India.
¹⁰ Centre for Excellence in Millets, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Atthiyandal, Thiruvannamalai District, Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606 603, India.
¹¹ Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada. snewmast@uoguleph.ca.

Abstract

Despite the extensive use of small millet landraces as an important source of nutrition for people living in semi-arid regions, they are presently marginalized and their diversity and distribution are threatened at a global scale. Local farmers have developed ancient breeding programs entrenched in traditional knowledge (TK) that has sustained rural cultures for thousands of years. The convention on biological diversity seeks fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources arising from local knowledge and requires signatory nations to provide appropriate policy and legal framework to farmers' rights over plant genetic resources and associated TK. DNA barcoding employed in this study is proposed as a model for conservation of genetic diversity and an essential step towards documenting and protecting farmers' rights and TK. Our study focuses on 32 landraces of small millets that are still used by indigenous farmers located in the rain fed areas of rural India and Nepal. Traditional knowledge of traits and utility was gathered using participatory methods and semi-structured interviews with key informants. DNA was extracted and sequenced (rbcL, trnH-psbA and ITS2) from 160 samples. Both multivariate analysis of traits and phylogenetic analyses were used to assess diversity among small millet landraces. Our research revealed considerable variation in traits and DNA sequences among the 32 small millet landraces. We utilized a tiered approach using ITS2 DNA barcode to make 100 % accurate landrace (32 landraces) and species (six species) assignments for all 160 blind samples in our study. We have also recorded precious TK of nutritional value, ecological and agricultural traits used by local farmers for each of these traditional landraces. This research demonstrates the potential of DNA barcoding as a reliable identification tool and for use in evaluating and conserving genetic diversity of small millets. We suggest ways in which DNA barcodes could be used in the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights in India and Nepal.

Keywords: DNA barcoding; PPVFR; Small millets; Tiered approach; Traditional knowledge.