Foxtail Millet
Developmental Genetics of Domestication in Foxtail Millet and Other Grasses
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) is a panicoid cereal crop grass that was domesticated from green millet (Setaria viridis L.) in Northern China approximately 11,000 years ago. It is grown for human consumption in Northern China and India, and for animal consumption in temperate regions around the world. Its wild progenitor, green millet, is a troublesome weed of temperate crop systems.
Foxtail millet is of particular interest because it:
- has C4 photosynthesis
- is closely related to potential biofuels grasses such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.)
- is diploid
- has a small genome size (~500Mb)
- has a fully sequenced genome that will be publicly available later this year
- is physically small, annual, and fast-cycling
It is thus an excellent model system for the study of vegetative architecture and branch dynamics.
Our previous work, using a cross between foxtail and green millet, has identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control both vegetative and inflorescence branching. We are refining the results of those experiments using F7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs). We are also very interested in how branching develops over the life of the plant, and so are now studying this in the F7 RIL population.