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Breakthrough in identifying genes for high yielding climate resilient chickpea


                                                                                                                                                            
After FAO's successful 2016 International Year of Pulses Campaign, in 2018 the UN General Assembly decided that 10 February will mark World Pulses Day to reaffirm the contribution of pulses for sustainable agriculture and achieving the 2030 agenda for a sustainable food system and a # Zero Hunger World. This will mark as a new opportunity to heighten the public awareness of the nutritional benefits of eating pulses. Under the prevailing climate change and the serious concerns about sustainability of agricultural and food security worldwide, identification of genes for climate resilient chickpea by a global team of scientist led by Rajeev K. Varshney at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Hyderabad and scientists from the University of Western Australia is of great importance. The research paper published in the latest issue of Nature Genetics (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0401-3) states that these scientists have been able to map 4.97 million nucleotides polymorphisms of the chickpea from whole- genome resequencing of 429 chickpea lines sampled from 45 countries. The heat and drought tolerance genes identified by this study can be used to develop drought and heat tolerant chickpeas. The genomics-assisted breeding approach will also help to reduce the time taken to produce such varieties of chickpeas. The significance of this study has been many folds since globally, more than 70 % yield is lost due to drought and increasing temperature and any further increase in temperature due to climate change is expected to further reduce the yield. This study also mapped the origins of chickpeas, confirming that Eastern Mediterranean as the primary centre of origin and they came to India via Afghanistan and may have been introduced back to the primary source of origin 200 years later. The study indicates Ethiopia as secondary centre of diversity and maps a migration route from Mediterranean/Fertile Crescent to Central Asia to East Africa (Ethiopia) and South Asia (India). The findings provide insights into crop’s genetic diversity, domestication and agronomic traits.

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