In a significant breakthrough, a global team of 19 scientists from 9 institutes including the ICRISAT here have re-sequenced the genome or DNA of 292 pigeon pea varieties (Cajanus Cajan – commonly called arhar or tur dal in India) and discovered new traits such as resistance to various diseases that affect the crop and its insensitivity to photo-period. The research also traces the likely origin of the domesticated pigeon pea to Madhya Pradesh in central India. These discoveries have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics on Monday.



This breakthrough will lead to the development of superior varieties of this important pulse crop which can enable higher production and profits for smallholder farmers, better market value and bring it within an affordable price range for the consumer, especially the poor. Pigeon pea is a major source of protein, fiber, minerals, vitamins and resistant starch. It’s important for ensuring nutritional security for millions in the developing world. However, the crop yield has remained stagnant over the last six decades, with limited genetic diversity and genome information, which is required for the development of superior varieties.



Grown on more than 5 million hectares (ha), primarily by smallholder farmers, pigeon pea is the sixth most important food crop in the world. Pigeon pea imports were close to 300,000 tons in 2012-13 and the prices of pulses have put them out of reach for a majority of the Indian population.“The study used re-sequencing data to identify genomic regions impacted by domestication and breeding that have contributed to narrowing the genetic base.” said Dr Rajeev K Varshney, Research Program Director, ICRISAT, and the project director.



This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in pigeon pea research since the decoding of its DNA sequence (published in Nature Biotechnology) in 2011 by an ICRISAT-led global research team, and allows for a better understanding of patterns of genome-wide variations and the genetic basis of agronomic traits.