Biofortified foxtail millet: towards a more nourishing future

Biofortification of staple food crops is an economical and practical way to mitigate micronutrient malnutrition as it predisposes humans to different health maladies. Despite the availability of various methods for biofortification, the biofortified crops, especially millets, could offer a great scope. Foxtail millet has adequate content of minerals, non-starchy polysaccharides, vital amino acids, and proteins, and is regarded as one of the most important nutri-cereals. However, biofortified foxtail millet can potentially alleviate the micronutrient deficiency. Genetic modification to improve the micronutrient content through the available zinc and iron-regulated transporters in foxtail millet can be useful to fine tune the enrichment of micronutrients. The availability of well annotated foxtail millet genome sequence information can facilitate gene mining, transcripts and proteins related to nutritional quality. Combining the insights gained from proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and metabolomics might help foxtail millet to become a model system. This article describes the different aspects of biofortification in foxtail millet as the biofortified crop for the present and future.

Automated summary

Biofortification of foxtail millet is an important approach to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition. Foxtail millet has adequate nutrients and can be genetically modified to enhance its nutritional value. By utilizing the genomic information of foxtail millet and combining various techniques, it can become a model system for biofortification.