Asian Journal of Biotechnology and Bioresource Technology

Minor millets are a diverse group of small-seeded cereals valued for their adaptation to rain-fed, low-input production systems and their contribution to dietary diversity. Their potential in climate-resilient agriculture has historically been constrained by limited investment in genetic improvement, fragmented germplasm characterisation and an uneven distribution of genomic resources. Genome sequencing has begun to change this position, but progress differs markedly among species. Foxtail or Italian millet (Setaria italica) has emerged as a tractable diploid model with a well-established reference genome and extensive comparative-genomic resources. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), an allotetraploid (AABB) with a large and repeat-rich genome, has multiple genome assemblies, including chromosome-scale resources that support investigation of subgenome evolution and stress adaptation. Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) has benefited from multiple genome assemblies, resequencing panels and pan-genomic analyses, while genomic studies in Barnyard or Sawa millet (Echinochloa spp.) have clarified the complex evolutionary relationships between cultivated forms and weedy relatives. Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) remains comparatively under-resourced, although transcriptomic, marker and functional-genomic studies are accumulating. A major recent advance is the chromosome-scale assembly of Little millet (Panicum sumatrense), accompanied by resequencing of a large accession panel and the identification of loci associated with grain micronutrients. This review synthesizes the development of genomic resources in six commonly cultivated minor millets, evaluates their use in trait discovery and breeding, and identifies priorities for further research, including representative pangenomes, well-annotated germplasm collections, multi-environment phenotyping, functional validation, scalable genotyping and stronger integration of genomic determinants with traits of interest for farmers and consumers. The key point is that sequencing is a starting point: its value will depend on converting sequence variation into validated markers, improved cultivars and accessible breeding tools.