ABSTRACT BOOK

1

Millet workshop: Programme

Wednesday 24th

July 2013

Breakfast for residential delegates at Lucy Cavendish College

09.00 Depart Cambridge for Unilever UK at Colworth Science Park

10.00 - 10.30 Welcome at Unilever; tea/coffee and biscuits

10.50 - 13.00 Scientific talks

10.50 - 10.55 Dr Harriet Hunt (University of Cambridge) - Introduction

10.55 - 11.00 Prof John Casey/Prof Mark Berry (Unilever) - Welcome to Unilever

11.00 - 11.25 Dr Frances Bligh (Unilever)

Millets and the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

11.25 - 11.50 Dr Andrew Doust (Oklahoma State University)

The genetics of growth and development in foxtail and green millet

(Setaria italica, S. viridis)

11.50 - 12.15 Prof Pat Heslop-Harrison (University of Leicester)

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum): origins, genomic studies and

prospects

12.15 - 12.40 Dr Olga Romanova (N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant

Industry)

Genetic resources of millets at the Vavilov Research Institute of Plant

Industry, Russia

12.40 - 13.05 Dr Harriet Hunt (University of Cambridge)

Evidence from microsatellite markers for spatial structuring of genetic

diversity in broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet

(Setaria italica)

13.05 - 14.00 Lunch

14.00 - 15.00 Tour of glasshouses and foxtail millet phenotyping programme

15.00 - 16.00 Informal discussion; tea/coffee and biscuits

16.00 Depart for Cambridge

17.00 Arrive at Lucy Cavendish College – additional residential delegates to

check in

18.30 Drinks reception and posters in reception rooms above hall

19.30 Workshop dinner in reception rooms above hall

2

Thursday 25th

July 2013

Breakfast for residential delegates at Lucy Cavendish College

09.00 Depart for Innovation Farm, NIAB

09.30 - 10.55 Scientific talks

09.30 - 09.45 Dr Lydia Smith (NIAB)

Welcome and Introduction to Innovation Farm

09.45 - 09.55 Mr David McNaughton (Soya UK)

Current Millet Production in the UK

09.55 - 10.20 Dr Rattan Yadav (IBERS, University of Aberystwyth)

Genetic and genomic resources available and in use at IBERS for pearl

millet research

10.20 - 10.55 Dr Yuanhuai Han (Shanxi Agricultural University)

Ethylmethanesulfonate and fast neutron mutagenesis in Setaria italica

10.55 - 11.25 Tea/coffee and biscuits

11.25 - 13.00 Scientific talks

11.25 - 11.50 Prof Marc Knight (Durham University)

Using transcriptomics to identify the molecular processes underlying

the drought-tolerant stay-green trait in the crop Sorghum bicolor

11.50 - 12.15 Prof Martin Jones (University of Cambridge)

Millet and mobility: considerations of the archaeology and

ethnography of millet farming

12.15 - 12.40 Dr Xinyi Liu (University of Cambridge)

Morphological and palaeodietary insights into the early exploitation of

broomcorn millet

12.40 - 13.05 Dr Emma Lightfoot (University of Cambridge)

Why move starchy cereals? A review of the isotopic evidence for

prehistoric millet consumption across Eurasia

13.05 - 14.00 Lunch

14.00 - 15.30 Tour of NIAB Innovation Farm Field and Glass demonstrations

15.30 - 16.00 Concluding discussion

16.00 Departure

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ABSTRACTS

Talks – Wednesday 24th

July

11.00 – 11.25

Frances Bligh (Unilever UK)

Millets and the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

The USLP is linked to the Compass vision to double the size of the business, whilst

reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.

The USLP states that,

1. We will help more than 1 billion people take action to improve their

health and well-being.

2. We will halve the environmental impact of the making and use of our

products.

3. We will source 100% of agricultural raw materials sustainably.

Millet has a role to play in both parts 1 and 3 of the USLP in that, as a drought

resistant crop, it has great sustainability credentials and can be grown more easily and

with less external input in the many parts of the world where Unilever is currently

expanding. This is important not only for the current markets, but also with an eye to

climate change and the impact this is likely to have on global food security issues.

Millet also has nutritional advantages over other cereals for example, compared to

many commercial varieties of wheat, it has iron and magnesium levels at the upper

end of the range as well as considerably better zinc levels

To this end several research programmes have been set up on several types of millet

with a view to further understanding the potential of this crop, for both its agronomic

and nutritional benefits.

These and the future potential challenges for using millet as a raw ingredient in

branded consumer foods will be discussed.

4

11.25-11.50

Andrew Doust (Oklahoma State University)

The genetics of growth and development in foxtail and green millet (Setaria italica, S.

viridis)

Abstract

Foxtail millet and green millet form a new model system for studying a variety of

morphological and physiological traits in the grasses. We have used a population of

recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between these two species to analyze

the genetics of flowering time, architecture, and shattering. We have been

particularly interested in the relationship between developmental phase and vegetative

architecture, and find conflicting trends due to variation in both axillary bud initiation

and outgrowth. Selection during domestication of foxtail millet has led to an increase

in the duration of vegetative growth before commencement of flowering and a

decrease in branching, concomitant with a shift in reproductive architecture from

multiple small inflorescences to a few large ones. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for

flowering time appear stable across multiple environments whereas those for

vegetative architecture are more variable. Gene-by-gene and gene-by-gene-by-

environment interactions also account for significant proportions of the phenotypic

variation, likely impacting the strength of selection for these traits during

domestication. Comparative genomic analysis indicates that several of these QTL

regions have been involved in the domestication of multiple grasses, providing

evidence for parallel evolution of domestication traits.

11.50-12.15

Pat Heslop-Harrison (University of Leicester), Farah Badakshi and Harriet Hunt

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum): origins, genomic studies and prospects

Abstract

Proso millet is a minor crop in the Panicum genus and is a tetraploid (2n=4x=36

chromosomes). I will discuss the evidence for it being an allotetraploid, and for the

ancestral donors of the genomes that are present in the species using molecular

cytogenetics and DNA sequence evidence. I will also discuss its position within the

Panicum genus including the bioenergy or forage species P. virgatum, and the

noxious weed P. repens. P. miliaceum was domesticated early in the history of

agriculture, along with most of our current crops, but is now of minimal importance.

It has the first traits which are required for domestication. P. miliaceum seems to have

missed the second phase of improvement, despite the reports of high water use

efficiency and fast growth and hence has fallen out of the major crops. Based on work

with other species, I will consider how the proso millet may be improved –

superdomestication – exploiting the genetic diversity in the domesticated crop and

wild relatives.

5

12.15-12.40

Olga Romanova (Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, St Petersburg)

Genetic resources of millets at the Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry

(Russia)

Abstract

In the early 20th century N.I. Vavilov was the first among the world community to

put forward the idea of the need to collect, study and rationally utilize crop genetic

resources and their wild relatives. Vavilov’s theory of the centers of crop origin, his

publications on the role of source material in breeding practice and other ideas later

formed the foundation whereupon the modern concept of collecting, conservation,

research and utilization of the world’s plant diversity is based.

A great number of local varieties contribute to the uniqueness of this collection, as

farmers’ traditional selection often employed and developed a valuable genetic pool

which even now serves as a stock to be searched for sources of adaptability and

resistance to pathogens.

12.40-13.05

Harriet Hunt (University of Cambridge)

Evidence from microsatellite markers for spatial structuring of genetic diversity in

broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica)

Abstract

Landrace collections in national and international germplasm repositories constitute a

vital resource for crop development. Evaluation of molecular diversity in germplasm

collections is important for several purposes: 1) to facilitate marker-assisted breeding

programmes; 2) to understand phenotypic adaptation to diverse abiotic and biotic

environments at the genetic level; 3) to understand the history of crop domestication

and spread. We have characterized genetic diversity using microsatellite markers

(SSRs) in landrace collections of the major ‘East Asian’ millet species, broomcorn

millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica), spanning the Eurasian

continent. In this talk I will compare and contrast the resulting geographic structuring

of genetic diversity. I will discuss how these patterns plausibly relate to processes of

prehistoric spread, human selection, and adaptation to novel environments

encountered through rapid agricultural expansion.

6

Talks – Thursday 25th July

09.45-09.55

David McNaughton (Soya UK)

Current Millet Production in the UK

Abstract

Soya UK are one of only two companies who produce commercial quantities of millet

in the UK. I will present a short overview of the commercial millet production

currently done in the UK.

09.55-10.20

Rattan Yadav (IBERS, Aberystwyth University)

Genetic and genomic resources available and in use at IBERS for pearl millet research

Abstract

Pearl millet is grown as a grain and fodder crop by poorest of the poor farmers in the

harshest environments of South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. It has excellent

tolerance to environmental stresses and has high nutritional and therapeutic food

values. To breed resilient pearl millet cultivars a number of genetic and genomic

resources have been developed and utilised by IBERS and its collaborators in the past

two decades. This presentation will describe how these resources have been

developed and utilised in the past and how they are being developed further to

enhance food and nutrition security of the farming families dependent on this crop.

7

11.25-11.50

Stephanie M. Johnson, Fei-Ling Lim, Antoni R. Slabas, Marc R. Knight (Durham

University)

Using transcriptomics to identify the molecular processes underlying the drought-

tolerant stay-green trait in the crop Sorghum bicolor

Abstract

Abiotic stress can have a major impact on plant survival and crop productivity. In

particular, drought stress is thought to be the biggest single cause of yield reduction of

crops. Currently, large areas of agricultural land are drought prone and require

irrigation. This lack of water is likely to become an increasing problem as a result of

increases in global human population and climate change. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor

[L.]) Moench is a cereal crop grown in arid and semi-arid regions of over 98 different

countries. It is grown primarily as a food source and is the dietary staple for more than

500 million people. Extensive breeding efforts have lead to the identification of

Sorghum varieties with enhanced drought tolerance. These have been termed stay-

green due to their ability to maintain green photosynthetic leaf area under drought

conditions. This allows these varieties to survive for longer and therefore produce

higher yields than their drought-sensitive counterparts. While much work has been

carried out to breed for and to physiologically characterize this trait, we have very

little understanding of the fundamental biological processes which underlie it. We

have used a transcriptomic approach to identify gene expression differences between

a stay-green and senescent line. Ontological analysis of these has lead to the

identification of a number of important processes. An understanding of these genes

and processes could be used to aid selection for this trait in the future.

11.50-12.15

Martin Jones (University of Cambridge)

Millet and mobility: considerations of the archaeology and ethnography of millet

farming

Abstract

Broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, has a number of interesting features. It is the

earliest domesticated crop to be recorded in both the East and West of Asia. It is the

cereal with the shortest growing season and lowest water requirement. It is

furthermore a cereal closely associated with a Mongolian culture that has often been

characterised as mobile pastoralists. These various features indicate how much we

have to learn about the diversity of agrarian patterns, and the implications for

understanding the relationship between domestication, agriculture, sedentism and

mobility.

In this paper I shall review our work on the archaeology and ethnography of millet

farming in Eurasia, and reflect on the implications for understanding diverse pathways

to agriculture and sedentism.

8

12.15-12.40

Xinyi Liu (University of Cambridge)

Morphological and palaeodietary insights into the early exploitation of broomcorn

millet

Abstract

This paper considers two lines of evidence in relation to early use of broomcorn

millet: skeletal isotope and macrofossil. Isotopic patterns indicate that large-scale

consumption of millet became common among the populations in North China from

5,000 cal BC. In the period predating 5,000 BC, human diets are more variable.

Desiccated plant remains provide a unique chance to look into plant morphological

change in the course of early millet cultivation. Well preserved broomcorn millet

from deserts in Xinjiang and Armenia will be investigated in the paper.

12.40-13.05

Emma Lightfoot (University of Cambridge)

Why Move Starchy Cereals? A Review of the Isotopic Evidence for Prehistoric Millet

Consumption across Eurasia

The spread of agriculture is an important topic of archaeological research, but

relatively few studies empirically address the drivers behind the spread of specific

species. Here we use published isotopic data to consider whether the millets spread

from their putative domestication centre in the East to western Eurasia for use as a

staple food. We show that the consumption of significant quantities of millet was both

delayed compared to and far more sporadic than the earliest appearance of millet in

western Eurasia. This is not to say that millet was not consumed, rather that any

consumption was below the level of isotopic detectability, and thus millet cannot

generally be considered a staple. Nevertheless, individuals who regularly consumed

millet occur both as typical members of their population and as unusual individuals.

The reasons for this pattern open up new questions about and avenues of research into

the spread of agriculture.

9

POSTERS

Jennifer Bates (University of Cambridge)

The role of millets and rice in the north-east of the Indus Civilisation

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Indus Civilisation encompassed a wide range

of local environmental conditions, vegetation types and hydrological systems.

However, our understanding of Indus agricultural systems may have been

oversimplified as our knowledge of these systems has come from only a few sites.

Based on evidence from the city of Harappa, wheat and barley dominate the core

Indus region assemblages, with few millets until the Late Harappan period and rice

being introduced only towards the end of Indus Civilisation. Outside this zone the

agricultural strategy is more complex. Millets are hypothesised to dominate in

Gujarat, but there is little understanding of other non-core regions, and the Harappa

model has often been assumed for these areas. This paper presents preliminary

archaeobotanical data from several village sites in the north-east of the Indus region

excavated by the Land, Water, Settlement Project. This new data questions some of

these assumptions as rice and millets have been identified from the Early and Mature

Harappan contexts. This paper suggests that the importance of rice and millets may

have been overlooked in this region and that more research looking at the variation in

Indus agricultural strategies is needed to unpick this complex story.

10

Harriet Hunt (University of Cambridge), Hannah Moots, Robert Graybosch, Huw

Jones, Mary Parker, Olga Romanova, Martin Jones, Chris Howe, Kay Trafford

Evolution of the waxy starch phenotype in the polyploid cereal proso millet

Abstract

Functional evolution in polyploid genomes involves additional complexity at the

molecular level relative to diploids. We investigated this process at the granule-bound

starch synthase I (GBSSI) locus in the allotetraploid cereal, proso or broomcorn millet

(Panicum miliaceum). The GBSSI protein catalyses the synthesis of amylose in cereal

endosperm and hence controls grain texture. Human selection on GBSSI has

maintained phenotypic polymorphism for non-glutinous (wild-type) and glutinous

(waxy) grain in many cereals for at least 2000 years, along an East-West divide that

reflects different traditions of food processing.

Proso millet is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops, native to East Asia. This

species is unusual in being a polyploid in which fully-waxy varieties have evolved.

We have determined the full coding DNA sequence for the mature GBSSI protein at

two homeologous GBSSI loci, GBSSI-S and GBSSI-L. Sequencing of both

homeologues in a range of wild-type and waxy P. miliaceum lines enabled us to

analyse amylose content, GBSSI protein content and activity, and starch swelling

power in diverse genotypes. The molecular and biochemical results demonstrate that

the GBSSI-L locus has a limited capacity for amylose synthesis. The ancestral L allele

has reduced expression and possible reduced specific activity, relative to its GBSSI-S

homeologue. We infer that the GBSSI locus is in the process of becoming diploidised

following a chromosome doubling event in the evolutionary history of P. miliaceum.

Further, we analysed the association between GBSSI alleles and population structure

in P. miliaceum, as revealed by variation at 16 microsatellite loci. The data show

strong and statistically significant associations between GBSSI alleles and genetic

groups. These enable us to suggest a hypothesis for the evolutionary pathway to the

waxy phenotype in proso millet, including evidence for selection against partially-

waxy grain texture.

11

Stephanie M. Johnson (Durham University), Fei-Ling Lim, Antoni R. Slabas, Marc

R. Knight

Using transcriptomics to identify the molecular processes underlying the drought-

tolerant stay-green trait in the crop Sorghum bicolor

Abstract

Abiotic stress can have a major impact on plant survival and crop productivity. In

particular, drought stress is thought to be the biggest single cause of yield reduction of

crops. Currently, large areas of agricultural land are drought prone and require

irrigation. This lack of water is likely to become an increasing problem as a result of

increases in global human population and climate change. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor

[L.]) Moench is a cereal crop grown in arid and semi-arid regions of over 98 different

countries. It is grown primarily as a food source and is the dietary staple for more than

500 million people. Extensive breeding efforts have lead to the identification of

Sorghum varieties with enhanced drought tolerance. These have been termed stay-

green due to their ability to maintain green photosynthetic leaf area under drought

conditions. This allows these varieties to survive for longer and therefore produce

higher yields than their drought-sensitive counterparts. While much work has been

carried out to breed for and to physiologically characterize this trait, we have very

little understanding of the fundamental biological processes which underlie it. We

have used a transcriptomic approach to identify gene expression differences between

a stay-green and senescent line. Ontological analysis of these has lead to the

identification of a number of important processes. An understanding of these genes

and processes could be used to aid selection for this trait in the future.

Penny Jones (University of Cambridge)

Climate, water stress and the spread of millets in north-western India, 3000-1500 BC

Abstract

Archaeobotanical evidence suggests that a range of indigenous, African and Eurasian

millets became more widespread across north-western India between 3000 and 1500

BC. This was also a period of declining rainfall – possibly including an abrupt decline

around 2200 BC – and some researchers suggest that millets were increasingly

adopted as an adaptive response to the drying climate.

I will use a combination of isotopic and pollen analysis to test the link between

climate change and millet use across several sites in north-western India. First, I will

use oxygen isotope and pollen analysis to establish well-dated climatic records for

each of my sites. I will complement this with carbon isotope analysis of charred crop

remains. As carbon isotopes primarily reflect crop water status, this will allow me to

test whether crop water availability was declining through time. Finally, I will test for

correlations between climate, crop water availability and changes in the crop

assemblage.

Overall, this will provide the first explicit test of past links between climate change

and millet cultivation. As well as enriching our understanding of the past, this may

offer insights into agricultural resilience and agricultural decision making that are

relevant to the food security challenges facing the region today.

12

Natalia Przelomska (University of Cambridge), Harriet Hunt, Frances Bligh, James

Cockram, Martin Jones

Genetics of flowering time in Setaria italica and its wild progenitor Setaria viridis

Abstract

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) displays high levels of genetic diversity compared to

most cereal crop species. It is uncertain to what extent introgression from its wild

ancestor green foxtail (S. viridis) might be contributing to its diversity and resultant

adaptive potential. It is an exciting time for research on Setaria, which is being

developed as a model for the economically important Panicoideae subfamily of C4

grasses. Furthermore, it has been suggested that as a drought tolerant and highly

nutritional crop, S. italica could play an important role in future food security.

Flowering time is a key adaptive trait in plants, as a determinant of successful

pollination, seed development and dispersal. Characterisation of the flowering time

network in Setaria is in its infancy, but the recent sequencing of the genomes of both

species will accelerate this. The aim of my PhD research is to discover genes involved

in the control of flowering time in S. italica, using several complementary methods:

association mapping, candidate gene analysis and creation of a mapping population. I

am using a collection of 408 S. italica and 34 S. viridis accessions of a broad

geographical distribution, making this the first study of flowering time genetics in

Setaria in an ecological context.