Finger millet arose through the hybridization of two different plant species. The plant is therefore polyploid, which means it has a four-fold set of chromosomes and almost twice as many genes as its original species. The size and complexity of the genome are thought to have conferred the broad environmental tolerance of finger millet, while making genome research extremely difficult. For the first time, an international team of researchers from Yokohama City University and the University of Zurich has now managed to decode the complex genome of finger millet in great detail. It comprises about 2.6 million base pairs and has more than 62,300 genes - about twice as many as rice, for example.

https://doi.org/10.1093/dnares/dsx036

　

Figure 1： Diversity of Finger Millet. The morphological differences of panicles show its wide diversity.

（Photos：　provided by Dr. Mathi Thumilan Balachandran, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore: The University of Zurich）

　

Detailed information,

Press release: Yokohama City University (in Japanese)

Press release: The University of Zurich (in English)

Press release: The University of Zurich (in German)

Web Site: SwissFederal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) (in English)