Panicum Miliaceum Research Articles

Culinary continuity in central Japan across the transition to agriculture

Rice and millet arrived in Western Japan from Korea around 3,000 years ago and spread eastwards across the archipelago in the next 700 years. However, the extent to which agriculture transformed traditional Jōmon hunter-gatherer-fisher communities is debated. Central Japan is a key area of study as remodelling of radiocarbon dates shows a slowdown in the dispersal rate of rice agriculture in this area. Here, we examine and compare the use of pottery by Final Jōmon and Early to Middle Yayoi communities in the Tōkai and the Central Highland regions of central Japan, using lipid residue analysis. Although the identification of specific biomarkers for rice remains elusive, an increase in the ratio of E/H C18 APAAs with the arrival of rice and millet indicates a potential change in plant processing and consumption. We were also able to identify biomarkers for broomcorn millet (miliacin) in both Final Jōmon and Yayoi pottery. However, evidence for millet consumption is sparse and in all cases was likely mixed with wild hunted and foraged foods. We conclude therefore that, despite the introduction of rice and millet agriculture in central Japan, pre-existing diets and culinary habits of Jōmon hunter-gatherers remain important.

Physicochemical And Organoleptic Quality Testing Of Millet Microgreen Juice (Panicum Miliaceum L.) On Different Milet Types And Plant Age

This research has taken place using experimental laboratory methods of quantitative analysis. The variables used include varieties consisting of yellow millet and red millet, and plant life ranging from 6 days, 9 days, 12 days, and 15 days. The data obtained was analyzed based on parametric statistics using ANSIRA, using statistical product and service solution (SPSS) with version 24 and determining best treatment using effectiveness tests and determining antioxidant levels of best treatment. Different types and ages of plants have very real effects on reduced sugars, phenols, vitamin C, flavonoids and total soluble solids. Significant treatment between different plant types and ages resulted in a 6-day-old ryellow millet (MG1) being the best treatment with a result value (NH) of 0.73 with the parameter criterion reduction sugar level of 1.48%, total phenol content of 27.26 mg GAE/100mg, vitamin C 2.05 mg/100 mg, total flavonoid content of 4.98 mg QE/100 Mg, TPT 11.36 mg/L, color 4.81 (neutral), flavor 5.16 (few likes) and aroma 5.4 (few likes).

Comparative study on the effects of grain blending on functional compound content and in vitro biological activity

In this study, changes in bioactive compound contents and the in vitro biological activity of mixed grains, including oats, sorghum, finger millet, adzuki bean, and proso millet, with eight different blending ratios were investigated. The total phenolic compounds and flavonoid contents ranged from 14.43–16.53 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract and 1.22–5.37 mg catechin equivalent/g extract, respectively, depending on the blending ratio. The DI-8 blend (30% oats, 30% sorghum, 15% finger millet, 15% adzuki bean, and 10% proso millet) exhibited relatively higher antioxidant and anti-diabetic effects than other blending samples. The levels of twelve amino acids and eight organic acids in the grain mixes were measured. Among the twenty metabolites, malonic acid, asparagine, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, and proline were identified as key metabolites across the blending samples. Moreover, the levels of lactic acid, oxalic acid, and malonic acid, which are positively correlated with α-glucosidase inhibition activity, were considerably higher in the DI-blending samples. The results of this study suggest that the DI-8 blend could be used as a functional ingredient as it has several bioactive compounds and biological activities, including anti-diabetic activity.

Comparative Multi-Omics Analysis of Broomcorn Millet in Response to Anthracocystis destruens Infection.

Anthracocystis destruens is the causal agent of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) smut disease, which results in serious yield losses in broomcorn millet production. However, the molecular basis underlying broomcorn millet defense against A. destruens is less understood. In this study, we investigated how broomcorn millet responds to infection by A.destruens by employing a comprehensive multi-omics approach. We examined the responses of broomcorn millet across transcriptome, metabolome, and microbiome levels. Infected leaves exhibited an upregulation of genes related to photosynthesis, accompanied by a higher accumulation of photosynthesis-related compounds and alterations in hormonal levels. However, broomcorn millet genes involved in immune response were downregulated post A. destruens infection, suggesting that A.destruens may suppress broomcorn millet immunity. In addition, we show that the immune suppression and altered host metabolism induced by A.destruens have no significant effect on the microbial community structure of broomcorn millet leaf, thus providing a new perspective for understanding the tripartite interaction between plant, pathogen, and microbiota.

Starch chain-length distributions affect the processing and digestion characteristics of proso millet starch

Starch chain-length distributions play a key role in regulating the processing and digestion characteristics of proso millet starch. Waxy proso millet starch has higher endothermic enthalpy (13.06–16.73 J/g) owing to its higher relative crystallinity (27.83%–32.04%), while nonwaxy proso millet starch has lower peak viscosity (1.0630–1.1930 Pa∙s) and stronger viscoelasticity owing to its higher amylose content (21.72%–24.34%). Non-waxy proso millet starch exhibited two different digestion phases and its resistant starch content (18.37%–20.80%) was higher than waxy proso millet starch. Correlation analysis showed proso millet starch with longer amylopectin B1 chains and more amylopectin B2 chains exhibited excellent thermal ability and retrograde resistance, whereas proso millet starch with shorter and more amylose medium/long-chains not only reduced the digestion rate and increased the resistant starch content but also exhibited stronger viscoelasticity and excellent retrogradation properties. These results could provide more insights into efficient utilization of proso millet starch.

The evolution of cropping structure in prehistoric Xizang

The origin and spread of agriculture facilitated a decline in human mobility and eventually led to a predominantly sedentary lifestyle globally, including on the Tibetan Plateau. Previous studies have proposed an evolution of prehistoric agriculture, from millet-based to barley-based farming. However, details regarding the process are vague. Here, we present diachronic changes in cropping structure from Xizang on the basis of a quantitative analysis of archaeobotanical remains from 12 sites located in southeastern Xizang. The advent of agriculture in Xizang began in the southeastern region around 4800 cal a BP and resulted in a quick spread of millet agriculture from the Hengduan Mountains to the Yarlung Zangbo River region. Subsequently, the introduction of barley and wheat in Xizang led to the transformation of millet-based farming into mixed farming after 3600 cal a BP. Eventually, around 3000 cal a BP, barley and wheat dominated across the entire Xizang with declining occurrences of millet. It took more than 600 years for barley and wheat to dominate in the Tibetan cropping system, which may reflect the time required for these exotic species to adapt physiologically to their new niche. In addition to the diachronic changes in crop farming, the ratio of barley to wheat and foxtail millet to broomcorn millet also varied at different elevations possibly due to local environmental variations and the crops’ physiological requirements.

Harnessing the Transcriptomic Resources of Millets to Decipher Climate Resilience and Nutrient Enrichment Traits

Rich nutrients, climate resilience, and the economic importance of millets are believed to ensure food security for future generations. Millets have the habit of growing against abiotic stresses (particularly drought stress). Millets show much better climate resilience and nutrient supplementation properties compared to other major cereals. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of genes that respond to stresses and nutrient transport will help understand the tolerance mechanism and improve against both stresses. Genome sequences are currently available for two major (sorghum and pearl millet) and eight minor millets (foxtail millet, finger millet, kodo millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, job’s tear, fonio millet, and tef). Five minor millets (little millet, kodo millet, brown top millet, guinea millet, and raishan) do not have genome sequences to date. Transcriptome studies help to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), mine genes induced in a particular stress and develop several molecular markers for all plants, including millets. Some millets have reports on transcriptome datasets for plants exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses and for nutritional traits. Unfortunately, the transcriptome datasets of millets have not been adequately leveraged to explore genes associated with traits such as climate resilience, nutrient enrichment, and crop improvement. This underutilization stems from a lack of high-resolution studies and limited exploration within the field. As a result, the potential insights and genetic understanding offered by these datasets remain largely untapped. Through this review, we plan to elucidate the current status of transcriptome resources on millets and draw future insights on the utilization of these resources. This review will motivate researchers to utilize the available transcriptome resources for millet improvement.

Phenanthrene metabolism in Panicum miliaceum: anatomical adaptations, degradation pathway, and computational analysis of a dioxygenase enzyme.

Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants of environmental concern due to their potential impacts on food chain, with plants being particularly vulnerable. While plants can uptake, transport, and transform PAHs, the precise mechanisms underlying their localization and degradation are not fully understood. Here, a cultivation experiment conducted with Panicum miliaceum exposed different concentrations of phenanthrene (PHE). Intermediate PHE degradation compounds were identified via GC-MS analysis, leading to the proposal of a phytodegradation pathway featuring three significant benzene ring cleavage steps. Our results showed that P. miliaceum exhibited the ability to effectively degrade high levels of PHE, resulting in the production of various intermediate products through several chemical changes. Examination of the localization and anatomical characteristics revealed structural alterations linked to PHE stress, with an observed enhancement in PHE accumulation density in both roots and shoots as treatment levels increased. Following a 2-week aging period, a decrease in the amount of PHE accumulation was observed, along with a change in its localization. Bioinformatics analysis of the P. miliaceum 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (2-ODD) DAO-like protein revealed a 299 amino acid structure with two highly conserved domains, namely 2OG-FeII_Oxy and DIOX_N. Molecular docking analysis aligned with experimental results, strongly affirming the potential link and direct action of 2-ODD DAO-like protein with PHE. Our study highlights P. miliaceum capacity for PAHs degradation and elucidates the mechanisms behind enhanced degradation efficiency. By integrating experimental evidence with bioinformatics analysis, we offer valuable insights into the potential applications of plant-based remediation strategies for PAHs-contaminated environments.

Effects of Long-Term Fertilizer Application on Crop Yield Stability and Water Use Efficiency in Diversified Planting Systems

Exploring crop yield stability and the relationship between the water–fertilizer effect and annual precipitation type in a broomcorn millet–potato–spring corn rotation system under long-term fertilization on chestnut cinnamon soil in loess tableland can provide a scientific basis for rational fertilization in the northwest Shanxi region in years with different precipitation. This study was based on a 33-year long-term fertilizer experiment, using four fertilizer treatments: no fertilizer as control (CT), single fertilizer nitrogen (N), single organic fertilizer (M), and nitrogen fertilizer with organic fertilizer (NM). The results showed that broomcorn millet and maize had the highest yield in wet years, while potatoes had the highest yield in normal years and the yield under NM treatment was the highest. The sustainable yield index (SYI) values for potato and maize were higher than the SYI for the broomcorn millet during years with different precipitation and the SYI for the NM treatment was the highest. The water use efficiency of NM treatment was the highest. The yield of broomcorn millet and maize was affected by nitrogen fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and precipitation during the growth period, while the potato yield was mainly affected by nitrogen fertilizer and organic fertilizer. Therefore, the rotation of potato–maize and the rational allocation of organic and inorganic fertilizer (NM) is the best planting system in this region.

Physicochemical characterisation and impact of Gryllus bimaculatus addition on gluten‐free flour blends

SummaryGryllus bimaculatus (field cricket) powder is a prospect in enriching gluten‐free food products' protein and mineral contents. However, the technological impacts of replacing common gluten‐free cereal flours with G. bimaculatus powder are still incipient. This study aimed to characterise nutritional composition, particle morphology, and particle size distribution of G. bimaculatus powder and the gluten‐free flours (maize, rice, finger millet and proso millet). Additionally, it investigated the effects of substituting these gluten‐free flours with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% G. bimaculatus powder on proximate composition, hydration and colour properties. G. bimaculatus powder showed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) high protein (44.8 g/100 g) content and essential minerals such as zinc (208.5 mg/kg) and iron (132.2 mg/kg). Micrographs of G. bimaculatus powder revealed compact and heterogenous particles while the flours' particles varied in sizes, and the starch granules had different shapes, sizes and arrangements. Flour particles exhibited bi‐and trimodal size distributions ranging from 1.5 μm to 1100 μm with minor peaks preceding major peaks. Finger millet flour had a greater span of 4.12, while proso millet flour had a lower span of 1.97. Particle size correlated negatively with water absorption capacity (WAC) (r = −0.938) and oil absorption capacity (OAC) (r = −0.955), respectively. G. bimaculatus powder addition significantly increased (P ≤ 0.05) fat, protein and fibre contents, decreased (P ≤ 0.05) nitrogen‐free extracts, but had no effect on ash content. Hydration properties differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) except for WAC in proso millet blends. Samples exhibited significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) WAC than OAC in exception of G. bimaculatus powder and showed no emulsifying activities. Addition of G. bimaculatus powder significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased colour differences, reduced redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and lightness. The use of G. bimaculatus powder demonstrates the potential to enhance the nutritional properties and modify the colour and hydration of gluten‐free flours in the development of novel gluten‐free foods.

Crosstalk in proline biosynthesis regulates proline augmentation and resilience to salt stress in Panicum miliaceum L.

The development and productivity of most agricultural plants can be adversely affected by the presence of salts in soil. It is vital in these situations to increase agricultural yield, especially in barren soil, by developing plants that can endure and thrive in salty environment. For reducing the detrimental salt-induced effects, plants must actively control osmotic balance by accumulating suitable solutes like proline, polyols, and glycine betaine and by activating specific stress-responsive genes and enzymes within their cells. Proline is an important osmolyte which build up endogenously in plants in response to stressful situations and its accumulation is dependent on type of species and severity of stress. Although proline biosynthesis genes and enzymes have been extensively studied, but the preferred substrate in this process is yet not clear. In present study, we aimed to elucidate the preferred pathway of proline biosynthesis and the effect on physiological parameters under salt and Se application in proso millet. It was found that salt stress negatively impacted these parameters, while as the addition of Se improved these parameters. In comparison to control 150 mM NaCl treatment led to a reduction of upto 38.6% in FW and 18.91% in DW, whereas 200 mM NaCl led to reduction of upto 52.29% in FW and 18.91% in DW. The osmolytes, total soluble sugars (TSS), glycine betaine (GB) and total proline content (TPC) increased under salt stress by 53.7%, 2.14% and 113.79% at 150 mM NaCl and 54.89%, 0.53% and 87.1% at 200 mM NaCl. But, the application of Se significantly improved the above parameters. It was observed that the low level of Se (1 µM) had a role in enhancing the activity of P5CS, P5CR, and OAT enzymes while decreasing the activity of ProDH and P5CDH enzymes. It was found that genes responsible for proline biosynthesis were expressed efficiently in response to salt stress which further increased with Se application. During salt stress proline biosynthesis (PmP5CS, PmP5CR and PmOAT) genes were up-regulated which improved further with Se treatment. While as, the proline degrading (PmP5CDH and PmProDH) genes were down-regulated at both salt and se treatments. Overall, the Se treatment appeared to be beneficial for modulating the plant responses by providing tolerance.

Mechanical, wear, fatigue, and water absorption behavior of proso millet husk derived biosilica reinforced nylon 6–6 composite thick plates for friction stir welding process

Mechanical, wear, fatigue, and water absorption behavior of proso millet husk derived biosilica reinforced nylon 6–6 composite thick plates for friction stir welding process

Effectiveness of ISSR markers for detecting genomic variability in <I>Panicum miliaceum</I> L. accessions

Background. Millet is one of the main cereal crops with a wide area of cultivation. Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the consumption of millet and its processed products. As a result, the breeding of cultivars with high consumer properties is becoming relevant, requiring knowledge of the genetic diversity of germplasm accessions to identify donors of valuable agronomic traits and select parental forms using ISSR markers.Materials and methods. The analysis with 8 ISSR primers included 21 accessions of Panicum miliaceum L. of various origin from the VIR collection. The DNA of each accession was isolated by the CTAB method, and ISSR analysis was performed in a ­BioRad T100 Thermal Cycler. Statistical processing was made in the DARwin program (version 6.0.21).Results and conclusion. Eight primers were used to amplify 116 fragments, 62 (53.4%) of which turned out to be polymorphic. To assess the effectiveness of the analyzed primers and identify the polymorphism of millet, basic indicators of their informativeness were calculated and assessed by quantifying four marker parameters. Average PIC (0.27–0.36), EMR (1.38–14.5) and MI (0.12–4.87) values were obtained for most ISSR primers. Four ISSR primers had high Rp values (3.52–6.76) and were the most informative for genotyping. The selected ISSR markers were used to assess the genetic variability of the accessions and identify them. The values of genetic distances (GD) were 0.05–0.21. It was shown that four ISSR markers with the best informativeness values provided sufficient polymorphism to assess the genetic diversity of the analyzed P. miliaceum genotypes and could be recommended for identification of the variability in the genome of millet accessions.

Establishment of genome-editing system and assembly of a near-complete genome in broomcorn millet.

The ancient crop broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is an indispensable orphan crop in semi-arid regions due to its short life cycle and excellent abiotic stress tolerance. These advantages make it an important alternative crop to increase food security and achieve the goal of zero hunger, particularly in light of the uncertainty of global climate change. However, functional genomic and biotechnological research in broomcorn millet has been hampered due to a lack of genetic tools such as transformation and genome-editing techniques. Here, we successfully performed genome editing of broomcorn millet. We identified an elite variety, Hongmi, that produces embryogenic callus and has high shoot regeneration ability in in vitro culture. We established an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation protocol and a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-mediated genome-editing system for Hongmi. Using these techniques, we produced herbicide-resistant transgenic plants and edited phytoene desaturase (PmPDS), which is involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis. To facilitate the rapid adoption of Hongmi as a model line for broomcorn millet research, we assembled a near-complete genome sequence of Hongmi and comprehensively annotated its genome. Together, our results open the door to improving broomcorn millet using biotechnology.

Application of CRISPR/Cas12i.3 for targeted mutagenesis in broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.).

A CRISPR/Cas12i.3-based gene editing platform is established in broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and used to create new elite germplasm for this ancient crop.

A REVIEW ON MILLET: A WONDER GRAIN OF NUTRITIONAL IMPORTANCE

Millets are underutilized minor cereal crops belonging to the Poaceae family. These small seeded, nutrient dense grains aredrought resistant, glutenfree and non-acid forming. They fall into two major categories, namely, the major millets, and the minor millets. Pearl millet and sorghum are classified as major millets. The minor millet category comprises foxtail millet, proso millet, finger millet, kodo millet, barnyard millet and little millet.They are rich source of phytochemicals with medicinal properties in the form of antioxidant activities, which help lower many health diseases.They have a low glycemic index, high fibre content, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). It is a splendid source of essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, vitamins, and also some other bioactive compounds that eventually help through multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-cholesterol, anti-hypertensive, anthropometric effects and regulation of gut microbiota composition.In addition to staple food crops, such as wheat and rice millets are highly nutritious and beneficial and have great potential to help the world combat the food insecurity many countries face today.The current review is to collect the available information from existing literature related to the nutritional importance and health-benefiting properties of millet and trying to present the collected data in an easily-documented pattern.

Hyperspectral Imaging and Machine Learning as a Nondestructive Method for Proso Millet Seed Detection and Classification.

Millet is a small-seeded cereal crop with big potential. There are many different cultivars of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) with different characteristics, bringing forth the issue of sorting which are important for growers, processors, and consumers. Current methods of grain cultivar detection and classification are subjective, destructive, and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need to develop nondestructive methods for sorting the cultivars of proso millet. In this study, the feasibility of using near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging (900-1700 nm) to discriminate between different cultivars of proso millet seeds was evaluated. A total of 5000 proso millet seeds were randomly obtained and investigated from the ten most popular cultivars in the United States, namely Cerise, Cope, Earlybird, Huntsman, Minco, Plateau, Rise, Snowbird, Sunrise, and Sunup. To reduce the large dimensionality of the hyperspectral imaging, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, and the first two principal components were used as spectral features for building the classification models because they had the largest variance. The classification performance showed prediction accuracy rates as high as 99% for classifying the different cultivars of proso millet using a Gradient tree boosting ensemble machine learning algorithm. Moreover, the classification was successfully performed using only 15 and 5 selected spectral features (wavelengths), with an accuracy of 98.14% and 97.6%, respectively. The overall results indicate that NIR hyperspectral imaging could be used as a rapid and nondestructive method for the classification of proso millet seeds.

Changes in Biological Soil Health Properties in Response to Increased Crop Diversity in a Dryland Wheat-Based Cropping System

ABSTRACT Diversifying wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-based cropping systems is important for the sustainability of dryland agriculture. Research has focused on the agronomic benefits of increased crop diversity in semi-arid environments, but less is known about the impacts of increased crop diversity on the soil microbial community. This work compared soil health parameters between a continuous wheat crop sequence to a diverse sequence that included pea (Pisum sativum L.), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, L.), and spring wheat. Respiration was higher (p < .005) in the diverse sequence while activity of N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase was lower (p < .05) with a mean rate of 26.3 and 16.3 mg ρ-nitrophenol kg−1 soil h−1 for the continuous wheat and diverse sequences, respectively. The mean net nitrogen mineralized during the growing season was 33.2 ± 2.5 kg ha−1 and was not different between treatments (p > .05). No difference was observed in bacterial alpha diversity, while fungal community diversity was 52% lower in the diverse rotation. The results of this work suggest that specific crops in a rotation may impact microbial processes related to nitrogen mineralization and that the soil fungal community may be more sensitive to changes in crop sequence than the soil bacterial community.

Genomic variation in weedy and cultivated broomcorn millet accessions uncovers the genetic architecture of agronomic traits.

Large-scale genomic variations are fundamental resources for crop genetics and breeding. Here we sequenced 1,904 genomes of broomcorn millet to an average of 40× sequencing depth and constructed a comprehensive variation map of weedy and cultivated accessions. Being one of the oldest cultivated crops, broomcorn millet has extremely low nucleotide diversity and remarkably rapid decay of linkage disequilibrium. Genome-wide association studies identified 186 loci for 12 agronomic traits. Many causative candidate genes, such as PmGW8 for grain size and PmLG1 for panicle shape, showed strong selection signatures during domestication. Weedy accessions contained many beneficial variations for the grain traits that are largely lost in cultivated accessions. Weedy and cultivated broomcorn millet have adopted different loci controlling flowering time for regional adaptation in parallel. Our study uncovers the unique population genomic features of broomcorn millet and provides an agronomically important resource for cereal crops.

Millets as Nutricereal Climate Resilient Smart Crop: A Review

Worldwide climate change and extreme weather variations are the most threatening challenge to agriculture and allied activities. The entire food production system has faced serious challenges due to increase in average temperature, intensity and frequency of drought and flood, aberration of rainfall patterns, and elevation in CO2 concentration. In today’s world climate change is a major concern. Review of different literature from different reports and studies for different nutritional benefit of millets and how it can thrive in climate change conditions are important. Different literature have been searched from different sources and complied. Millets are considered highly nutrition-rich and climate-resilient coarse grain cereals and it can enhance income as well as improve food and nutrition security. Millets have climate-resilient features and that’ s why they can thrive in adjust to a vast changing ecological conditions, less water requirements, low nutrient input conditions and also they have more resistance to environmental hassels. In comparison to cereals, millets have more dietary fibres, resistant starches and are nutritionally superior. Millet require less time to complete its life cycle than rice and wheat, so they have the capacity to escape the stresses. Millets also provide several health benefits as they have nutritious. The cost of cultivation is also less compare to other cereals. As population growth increases and climate is changing day by day so millets are the alternative choice for today’s world. In Karnataka most of the farmers already have started to cultivate drought resistant millets than more water required crop like rice, sugarcane, and maize to due to climate change. They commonly grown millets from domestic purposes are sorghum, pearl millet, finger - millet, barnyard, foxtail, kodo, proso and Little millet.