Both the weedy and cultivated broomcorn millets contain the same chromosome number (2 n = 4 x = 36) and can produce fertile offspring by crossing with each other. As its companion weed, the weedy broomcorn millet is also commonly found in these areas. At present, the broomcorn millet has been used as either staple food, bird feed, or forage and is mainly produced in Russia, Ukraine, China, and India. The genetic divergence revealed between the cultivated broomcorn millet from eastern Eurasia and those from central-western Eurasia was probably derived from either the genetic introgression from weedy broomcorn millets along the spread routes or the founder effect, while the limited gene flow of broomcorn millets from eastern and central-western Eurasia was probably due to the different uses of broomcorn millets and eating habits of the local people.īroomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum L.) is an important crop broadly cultivated in the semiarid regions of Eurasia and America due to its short growing season and high tolerance of heat and drought. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the genomic level provided useful evidence to distinguish the wild and the endoferal/exoferal types of weedy broomcorn millets.

Our analyses consistently revealed both the wild and the feral genotypes in the weedy broomcorn millets. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of weedy and cultivated broomcorn millets were investigated by using the high-throughput sequencing technology, i.e., the specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq). The genealogical relationships and genetic divergence among these taxa have not been clarified. Weedy broomcorn millet is thought to be the descendant of the wild ancestor or the feral type of this cereal.

4School of Science and Technology, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA, United Statesīroomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum L.) is one of the earliest domesticated crops in the world.3Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.2Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life and Environment in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, China.1School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.Chunxiang Li 1,2† Minxuan Liu 3† Fengjie Sun 4 Xinyu Zhao 1 Mingyue He 1 Tianshu Li 1 Ping Lu 3 Yue Xu 1,2*

Broomcorn broom