Genetic Diversity Analysis and Nutritional Profiling of Black Fonio Millet (Digitaria iburua Stapf) Revealed Genotypes with High Nutritional Value

Abstract

Black fonio millet (Digitaria iburua) is an underutilized African crop that is significant in promoting food and nutrition security in West  Africa. Despite its benefits, the potential for improvement of this crop remains largely untapped, and there is a paucity of knowledge  about its genetic diversity and nutritional properties. This study evaluated the variability of forty-one (41) D. iburua accessions collected  from farmers in Abuja, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Kaduna in Nigeria using nutritional traits as well as molecular markers. The descriptive  statistics results showed a broad range of variations in the nutritional traits examined. Among the collection sources, Nasarawa  accessions had the highest crude protein content, while Plateau accessions had the highest carbohydrate and crude lipid content. Also,  sulfur, phosphorus, and potassium are among the most abundant mineral contents found in D. iburua. Furthermore, the molecular  marker analysis revealed that the genetic distance between pairs of sources of collection varied from 0.61 to 0.79 with higher similarity  between Nasarawa and Kaduna accession. The molecular variance analysis depicted 11% of the total variation existed among  populations, whereas 89% was distributed within populations. Also, we identified four populations or major sub-clusters from the studied  germplasm. Finally, these findings have shown the presence of high genetic diversity for Nigeria D. iburua accessions and  present an opportunity for the crop's genetic improvement. Thus, accessions from Nasarawa State with higher protein content should be  harnessed for use in areas with nutritional deficiency to aid in nutrition security.