Developmental transcriptome of Little millet (Panicum sumatrense)

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult.) is an essential minor millet of southeast Asia and Africa's temperate and subtropical regions. The plant is stress-tolerant with a short life cycle with a mineral-rich nutritional profile associated with unique health benefits. We report the developmental transcriptome and gene expression atlas of little millet (genotype JK-8) from ten tissues representing different stages of its life cycle, starting from seed germination and vegetative growth to panicle maturation. The developmental transcriptome atlas led to the identification of 342,827 transcripts. The BUSCO analysis and comparison with the transcriptomes of related species confirm that this study presents high-quality, in-depth coverage of the little millet transcriptome. In addition, the eFP browser generated here is a user-friendly interface allowing interactive visualizations of tissue-specific gene expression. Using these data, we identified transcripts, the orthologs of which in Arabidopsis and rice are involved in nutrient acquisition, transport and response pathways. The comparative analysis of the expression levels of these transcripts holds great potential for enhancing the mineral content in crops, particularly zinc and iron, to address the issue of 'hidden hunger' and to attain nutritional security, making it a valuable asset for translational research.小粟（Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult.）是东南亚以及非洲温带与亚热带地区的重要小宗杂粮作物。该作物兼具抗逆性强、生育期短的特性，且营养丰富、富含矿物质，具备独特的健康获益价值。本研究针对基因型为JK-8的小粟，选取覆盖种子萌发、营养生长至穗部成熟的全生育期不同阶段的10种组织，构建了其发育转录组与基因表达图谱。该发育转录组图谱共鉴定得到342827条转录本（transcript）。通过通用单拷贝同源基因基准分析（BUSCO）以及与近缘物种转录组的比对，证实本研究实现了小粟转录组的高质量、全覆盖深度解析。此外，本研究构建的电子荧光可视化浏览器（eFP browser）为用户提供了便捷的交互式组织特异性基因表达可视化界面。依托上述数据，本研究鉴定得到一批转录本，其在拟南芥（Arabidopsis）与水稻中的直系同源基因参与养分获取、转运及信号响应通路。对这批转录本表达水平的比较分析，可为提升作物（尤其是锌与铁）矿物质含量提供重要研究思路，以解决“隐性饥饿”问题并实现营养安全，因此该研究成果具备极高的转化研究应用价值。