Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef)
Tef (<i>Eragrostis tef</i>) is an indigenous African cereal that is gaining global attention as a gluten-free “superfood” with high protein, mineral, and fibre contents. However, tef yields are limited by lodging and by losses during harvest owing to its small grain size (150× lighter than wheat). B...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Nature Research
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174844 |
| _version_ | 1855525798580060160 |
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| author | Jones, M.R.W. Kebede, W. Teshome, Abel Girija, A. Teshome, A. Girma, D. Brown, J.K.M. Quiroz-Chavez, J. Jones, Christopher S. Wulff, B.B.H. Assefa, K. Tadele, Z. Mur, L.A.J. Chanyalew, S. Uauy, C. Shorinola, Oluwaseyi |
| author_browse | Assefa, K. Brown, J.K.M. Chanyalew, S. Girija, A. Girma, D. Jones, Christopher S. Jones, M.R.W. Kebede, W. Mur, L.A.J. Quiroz-Chavez, J. Shorinola, Oluwaseyi Tadele, Z. Teshome, A. Teshome, Abel Uauy, C. Wulff, B.B.H. |
| author_facet | Jones, M.R.W. Kebede, W. Teshome, Abel Girija, A. Teshome, A. Girma, D. Brown, J.K.M. Quiroz-Chavez, J. Jones, Christopher S. Wulff, B.B.H. Assefa, K. Tadele, Z. Mur, L.A.J. Chanyalew, S. Uauy, C. Shorinola, Oluwaseyi |
| author_sort | Jones, M.R.W. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Tef (<i>Eragrostis tef</i>) is an indigenous African cereal that is gaining global attention as a gluten-free “superfood” with high protein, mineral, and fibre contents. However, tef yields are limited by lodging and by losses during harvest owing to its small grain size (150× lighter than wheat). Breeders must also consider a strong cultural preference for white-grained over brown-grained varieties. Tef is relatively understudied with limited “omics” resources. Here, we resequence 220 tef accessions from an Ethiopian diversity collection and also perform multi-locational phenotyping for 25 agronomic and grain traits. Grain metabolome profiling reveals differential accumulation of fatty acids and flavonoids between white and brown grains. k-mer and SNP-based genome-wide association uncover important marker-trait associations, including a significant 70 kb peak for panicle morphology containing the tef orthologue of rice <i>qSH1</i>—a transcription factor regulating inflorescence morphology in cereals. We also observe a previously unknown relationship between grain size, colour, and fatty acids. These traits are highly associated with retrotransposon insertions in homoeologues of <i>TRANSPARENT TESTA 2</i>, a known regulator of grain colour. Our study provides valuable resources for tef research and breeding, facilitating the development of improved cultivars with desirable agronomic and nutritional properties. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace174844 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Nature Research |
| publisherStr | Nature Research |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1748442025-10-26T12:52:10Z Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) Jones, M.R.W. Kebede, W. Teshome, Abel Girija, A. Teshome, A. Girma, D. Brown, J.K.M. Quiroz-Chavez, J. Jones, Christopher S. Wulff, B.B.H. Assefa, K. Tadele, Z. Mur, L.A.J. Chanyalew, S. Uauy, C. Shorinola, Oluwaseyi cereals crops genomics teff Tef (<i>Eragrostis tef</i>) is an indigenous African cereal that is gaining global attention as a gluten-free “superfood” with high protein, mineral, and fibre contents. However, tef yields are limited by lodging and by losses during harvest owing to its small grain size (150× lighter than wheat). Breeders must also consider a strong cultural preference for white-grained over brown-grained varieties. Tef is relatively understudied with limited “omics” resources. Here, we resequence 220 tef accessions from an Ethiopian diversity collection and also perform multi-locational phenotyping for 25 agronomic and grain traits. Grain metabolome profiling reveals differential accumulation of fatty acids and flavonoids between white and brown grains. k-mer and SNP-based genome-wide association uncover important marker-trait associations, including a significant 70 kb peak for panicle morphology containing the tef orthologue of rice <i>qSH1</i>—a transcription factor regulating inflorescence morphology in cereals. We also observe a previously unknown relationship between grain size, colour, and fatty acids. These traits are highly associated with retrotransposon insertions in homoeologues of <i>TRANSPARENT TESTA 2</i>, a known regulator of grain colour. Our study provides valuable resources for tef research and breeding, facilitating the development of improved cultivars with desirable agronomic and nutritional properties. 2025-05-26 2025-05-27T09:08:56Z 2025-05-27T09:08:56Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174844 en Open Access Nature Research Jones, M.R.W., Kebede, W., Teshome, A., Girija, A., Teshome, A., Girma, D., Brown, J.K.M., Quiroz-Chavez, J., Jones, C.S., Wulff, B.B.H., Assefa, K., Tadele, Z., Mur, L.A.J., Chanyalew, S., Uauy, C. and Shorinola, O. 2025. Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (<i>Eragrostis tef</i>). Communications Biology 8: 807. |
| spellingShingle | cereals crops genomics teff Jones, M.R.W. Kebede, W. Teshome, Abel Girija, A. Teshome, A. Girma, D. Brown, J.K.M. Quiroz-Chavez, J. Jones, Christopher S. Wulff, B.B.H. Assefa, K. Tadele, Z. Mur, L.A.J. Chanyalew, S. Uauy, C. Shorinola, Oluwaseyi Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title | Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title_full | Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title_fullStr | Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title_short | Population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous African cereal tef (Eragrostis tef) |
| title_sort | population genomics uncovers loci for trait improvement in the indigenous african cereal tef eragrostis tef |
| topic | cereals crops genomics teff |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174844 |
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